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Pope Francis skips Good Friday procession at last minute ‘to preserve his health’

  • The 87-year-old pontiff’s sudden no show is likely to renew concerns about his declining strength
  • The pope still has several Easter week events on his agenda, including Easter Mass and the twice-annual ‘to the city and the world’ message

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Vatican ushers carry away Pope Francis’ chair before the start of the “Way of the Cross” event at the Colosseum on Good Friday. Photo: AP

Pope Francis cancelled at the last minute his attendance at the Good Friday procession at Rome’s Colosseum, in what the Vatican described as a bid “to preserve his health” ahead of more Easter week engagements.

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Francis’ agenda for the next two days consists of an Easter Vigil service on Saturday evening and an Easter Mass and the twice-annual Urbi et Orbi (to the city and world) message and blessing on Sunday morning.

The 87-year-old’s sudden no show is likely to renew concerns about his declining strength.

Francis uses a cane or a wheelchair to move around due to a knee ailment, and suffers from repeated bouts of bronchitis and influenza.

The faithful attend the “Way of the Cross” torchlight procession on Good Friday near the Colosseum in Rome. Photo: EPA-EFE
The faithful attend the “Way of the Cross” torchlight procession on Good Friday near the Colosseum in Rome. Photo: EPA-EFE

Good Friday leads on Sunday to Easter, the most important and joyous date in the Church’s liturgical calendar – commemorating the day Christians believe Jesus rose from the dead.

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The Vatican announced the pope’s absence from the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession just as it was about to start, saying in a statement he would follow it remotely from his Vatican residence.

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