The pope has a cold and will skip his usual outdoor Sunday prayers, but will deliver the blessing indoors just days before his Christmas Eve and day Masses, the Vatican said Saturday.
Cold weather and the pope’s busy schedule during Christmas week were cited as reasons why the 88-year-old gave the blessing from his residence in the chapel of the Vatican’s Santa Marta district.
On Sundays, the Pope usually addresses the public from the window of St. Peter’s Basilica overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
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Pope Francis will exchange seasonal greetings with Vatican employees on Saturday. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Pope Francis sounded busy on Saturday when he delivered his annual Christmas greetings to the Vatican bureaucrats.
The octogenarian has suffered from bronchitis before, including last year when he was hospitalized, and last year he also missed a climate change meeting in Dubai due to flu and pneumonia.
The Pope has contracted a cold and will skip his usual Sunday prayers in the open air, instead delivering the blessing just days before his Christmas Eve and Day Masses indoors, the Vatican said on Saturday. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
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The Pope contracted pleurisy in his 20s and was forced to have part of his lungs removed. native Argentina.
On Sundays, the Pope usually addresses the public from a window of St. Peter’s Basilica overlooking St. Peter’s Square. (Riccardo De Luca/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Christmas Eve also marks the start of the Vatican’s Holy Year, with around 32 million pilgrims expected to flock to Rome in 2025.
The Pope will open the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve and on December 26 he will go to Rome’s main prison to mark the beginning of the Holy Year.
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The Holy Year, also known as the Jubilee, is usually held every 25 years.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
