Vatican City
Reuters
The Catholic Church starts its busiest week of the year on Sunday with the countdown to Easter, but Pope Francis remains largely out of public view after surviving double pneumonia and it is unclear whether he will take any part in the celebrations.
Doctors have prescribed the 88-year-old pontiff two months of rest to allow his ageing body to fully heal, meaning he may spend much or all of Holy Week – when Christians recall Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection – out of public view.
A general view of St Peter’s Square ahead of the Easter Mass attended by Pope Francis, at the Vatican, on 31st March, 2024. PICTURE: Reuters/Remo Casilli/File photo
“This will certainly be a very different Holy Week for the Pope and for the Catholic faithful,” said Anna Rowlands, a Catholic academic at England’s Durham University.
“The near silence of the Pope…could intensify the meaning of parts of the week for many,” she said.
The Pope would normally preside over at least eight Vatican ceremonies during Holy Week, culminating in Easter Sunday Mass, when tens of thousands of people flock into St Peter’s Square to celebrate the day they believe Jesus rose from the dead.
Vatican officials are still unsure whether Francis, who came close to death in hospital, may try to make brief appearances, or partake in some of the events via a video link.
POPE FRANCIS WEARS BLACK PANTS, NOT PAPAL ATTIRE, IN SURPRISE VISIT TO ST PETER’S
Pope Francis, who is taking two months’ rest as he recovers from double pneumonia, made an unannounced visit to St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Thursday dressed in black pants rather than his usual, traditional white papal attire.
Pope Francis blesses a baby as he makes a surprise visit to St Peter’s Basilica on wheelchair, at the Vatican, on 10th April, 2025 in this screengrab taken from a handout video. PICTURE: Luiz Gil /Handout via Reuters
In a video verified by Reuters, the 88-year-old pontiff is seen in a wheelchair wearing black pants and with a striped blanket wrapped around his chest.
The Pope, waving at visitors to the basilica as attendants pushed his wheelchair, had a small nasal hose to receive supplemental oxygen, the video showed.
The date of the video recording was verified by Reuters by its metadata and confirmed by the person who shared it.
“We were visiting St Peter’s Basilica and saw some guards passing by and making way, so we went to see what it was, and it was the pope,” said Luiz Gil, who took the video. “Few people noticed, it was very quick, but he stopped to talk to a family with a baby.”
Francis is recovering at the Vatican after spending 38 days in hospital for double pneumonia, in the most serious health crisis of his 12-year papacy.
He has only made one previous public appearance since being discharged on 23rd March, when he briefly greeted crowds during an event in St Peter’s Square on 6th April.
The Pope rarely makes public appearances wearing civilian garb rather than his traditional papal vestments, but has occasionally dressed down during some trips abroad.
– JOSHUA MCELWEE, additional reporting by POLA GRZANKA, Vatican/Reuters
Rev Bruce Morrill, a Jesuit priest and academic at Vanderbilt University in the US, said the Pope’s “perseverance and transparency in his infirmity brings a new poignancy” to the holiday.
“It could be that people will draw strength and inspiration of a different type with the Pope’s limited presence to this year’s Holy Week services,” he said.
Until his unannounced visit on Thursday, Francis, pontiff since 2013, had appeared in public only once since being discharged on 23rd March after a 38-day stay in hospital, making a short, surprise appearance to greet crowds at the Vatican on 6th April when he spent only a few minutes in St Peter’s Square and spoke only a few words in a frail voice.
His possible participation in events during Holy Week will be determined on an event-by-event basis, the Vatican press office said on Tuesday.
“Written reflections”
The Vatican’s Holy Week calendar includes special celebrations on 17th April for Holy Thursday, which commemorates Jesus’ Last Supper; on 18th April for Good Friday, the day Christians mark Jesus’ crucifixion; and on 19th April for an evening Easter vigil service.
The Vatican is yet to say who will lead each service. Officials expect senior cardinals to fill in for the Pope as needed.
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Francis skipped the Good Friday events in 2023 and 2024 due to prior health issues. He has not previously missed an Easter celebration, when he usually also offers a major speech.
Delivered as part of a twice-yearly special blessing called “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world), the pontiff typically uses the occasion to decry ongoing world conflicts.
The Vatican has been publishing occasional messages said to be written by Francis during his recovery. Officials have also been reading aloud homilies written by him during Vatican celebrations.
“If he is still resting as expected, it seems that his service to the church will be one of prayer and written reflections,” said Rowlands.
“I suspect…he will have much he wishes to pen, even if read in the voice of others, about suffering, limitation, violence and loss and the path to Resurrection,” she said.
