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Easter: concerns about the health of Pope Francis
The sovereign pontiff, aged 87, did not attend the Stations of the Cross, but the Vatican wants to be reassuring about his health.
(franceinfo)
The sovereign pontiff, aged 87, did not attend the Stations of the Cross, but the Vatican wants to be reassuring about his health.
At the foot of the Colosseum, his chair remained empty, before being quickly removed by Vatican teams. The ceremony was about to start this Friday March 29 when the press release came from the Holy See announcing that Francis would not come, to preserve his health. 25,000 faithful from all over the world were present for this ceremony “He must have his reasons for the decisions he makes. I think, however, that people are involved and very honored and happy to be here”testifies a faithful.
An unstable state of health
This Saturday morning, in Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican, many faithful feared not to see him celebrate Easter mass. The very changing state of health of this 87-year-old pope raises questions. In recent months, he often appeared out of breath, having others read the texts.
Could this fragile health push François to give up? According to Loup Besmond de Senneville, Vatican correspondent for the newspaper The Cross, “on the one hand, he says ‘the office of pope is for life’, and at the same time he says ‘if my health should one day deteriorate to such an extent that it prevents me from exercising correctly my office as pope and well, I would resign”. At the end of the morning, the Vatican reassuringly assured that the Pope would preside over the Easter vigil this Saturday evening in Saint Peter’s Basilica.
