Pope cancels pre-Easter service after visiting women’s prison

Pope Francis canceled his participation in the Good Friday procession at Rome’s Colosseum at the last minute, in what the Vatican called an attempt to “preserve his health” ahead of new Easter week events, Reuters reports.

Francis’ program for the next two days consists of an Easter vigil on Saturday evening, Easter Mass and the delivery of his twice-yearly message Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world) and blessing on Sunday morning.

The sudden absence of the 87-year-old pontiff is likely to renew fears about his waning powers.

As Reuters reminds, Francis moves with the help of a cane or wheelchair due to a knee problem and suffers from recurring bouts of bronchitis and flu.

The Vatican announced the pope’s absence from the Via Crucis procession just before it began, saying in a statement that the pope would watch remotely from his Vatican residence.

“To preserve his health in connection with tomorrow’s all-night vigil and Easter Sunday Mass, Pope Francis will follow the Way of the Cross to the Colosseum this evening from the Casa Santa Marta,” the Vatican press office said in a statement.

Francis, who looked brighter this week after weeks during which he struggled to speak publicly and canceled several meetings, also missed the procession last year after recovering from a four-day hospital stay for bronchitis.

Although Francis also missed the 2023 event because he was recovering from bronchitis and the night was particularly cold, his decision to stay home this year suggested his plans had suddenly changed, the Associated Press noted. The elderly Francis, who had part of a lung removed as a young man, spent the winter battling what he and the Vatican called flu, bronchitis or a cold. Over the past few weeks, he has occasionally asked an aide to read his speeches aloud, and skipped the Palm Sunday sermon altogether.

The decision to stay home appears to have been made at the last minute: Francis’ chair was placed on a platform in front of the Colosseum, where he was to preside over the ceremony. His closest aide, Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza, was on hand and moved the television screen on the platform to give Francis a better view of what was happening inside the Colosseum itself.

But at 9:10 pm, five minutes before the official start of the procession, the Vatican press office announced on Telegram that he would not be attending. The chair was quickly taken away, the Associated Press reported.

His absence was noted with concern but also understanding by some of the estimated 25,000 pilgrims who filled the square for the torchlight procession.

“I think, of course, it’s a concern for the people who are making sure he’s doing well, but he has to have his reasons for the decisions he makes,” said Marlene Stoiber, who came to the Vatican from Costa Rica . “And yet I think people are engaged and very blessed and happy to be here and experience these events here in Rome.”

The Way of the Cross at the Colosseum is a re-enactment of Jesus’ death by crucifixion in which participants take turns holding the cross as they walk in and around the ancient Roman arena, stopping to pray and listen to meditations.

Nuns, priests, a hermit, philanthropists, migrants and the disabled were among those who took part in the service held at the monument, which is believed to have been the site of early Christian martyrdom.

Francis personally wrote the meditations for this year, the first in his 11 years of papacy. They included praises of gentleness and forgiveness in response to acts of evil, as well as prayers for persecuted Christians and victims of war.

The pope, who called for the Catholic Church to become less male-dominated, also hailed the women who helped Jesus as he carried the cross and pleaded for “those [женщинах]who today are exploited and suffer injustice and humiliation.”

The Roman Catholic Church’s pontiff left the Vatican on Thursday to preside over the Holy Thursday ritual of washing the feet of 12 incarcerated women at a Rome women’s prison. While he performed the rites from a wheelchair, Francis appeared strong and interacted with the prisoners, even giving a large chocolate Easter egg to one woman’s young son.

Earlier on Friday, the pope joined cardinals and bishops for a service of the Passion of the Lord in St. Peter’s Basilica, which included hymns in Latin recounting the events from Jesus’ arrest to his burial.

In previous years, Francis began services by prostrating himself on the floor of the basilica, but his weak condition no longer allows him to do so. Instead, he arrived in a wheelchair and prayed silently before the main altar.