‘Frail’ Pope misses Good Friday procession

POPE FRANCIS skipped the traditional Good Friday procession at Rome’s Colosseum, the Vatican said, adding to concerns about his frail health during a particularly busy liturgical period.

Francis had been expected to preside over the Way of the Cross procession, which re-enacts Christ’s Passion and crucifixion, and composed the meditations that are read aloud at each station.

The night-time procession is the most sombre day in the Christian calendar, marking Jesus’s death by crucifixion. But just as the event was about to begin, the Vatican announced that Francis was following the event from his home at the Vatican.

It was the first time he had missed the traditional, evocative event in his 11-year papacy, just as St John Paul II had done shortly before he died in 2005.

“To conserve his health in view of the vigil tomorrow and Mass on Easter Sunday, Pope Francis will follow the Via Crucis at the Colosseum this evening from the Casa Santa Marta,” a statement from the Vatican press office said.

Earlier yesterday, he presided over a Good Friday service in St Peter’s Basilica from his wheelchair.

In previous years, Francis would begin by prostrating himself on the marble floor of the basilica, but his physical condition no longer allows him to do so. Instead, he prayed silently in front of the altar from his wheelchair.

The 87-year-old Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has been battling what he and the Vatican have described as a case of the flu, bronchitis or a cold all winter.

For the past several weeks, he has occasionally asked an aide to read aloud his speeches and skipped his Palm Sunday homily altogether.

Easter is the most important and joyous date in the Church’s liturgical calendar – commemorating the day Christians believe Jesus rose from the dead.

Francis is scheduled to preside at an Easter Vigil service today and then tomorrow celebrate Easter Mass and read his twice-annual Urbi et Orbi (to the city and world) message and blessing from the central balcony of St Peter’s.