Sunday, March 31, 2024 – The 87-year-old arrived in a wheelchair to
preside over the mass from 10:00 am (0800 GMT) in cloudy and windy weather,
with the events broadcast live around the globe.
France will pronounce the "Urbi et
Orbi" (To the City and the World) blessing at midday where he is expected
to bring up the international conflicts raging worldwide.
Easter Sunday marks the resurrection of
Jesus Christ and is the culmination of Holy Week, a major part of the Catholic
calendar followed by 1.3 billion people.
The pope on Saturday presided over the
Easter Vigil at the Vatican in front of some 6,000 people from around the
world, a day after his last-minute cancellation at a major Good Friday
procession revived questions about his health.
He delivered a 10-minute homily in Italian,
speaking without any undue difficulty and condemning "the walls of
selfishness and indifference" in the world.
At the end of the two-and-a-half-hour
service he showed little sign of fatigue, taking time to greet and bless some
of the worshippers.
In a brief statement Friday, the Vatican had
said that "to preserve his health ahead of tomorrow's vigil and the Easter
Sunday mass, Pope Francis will this evening follow the Way of the Cross at the
Colosseum from the Santa Marta Residence", where he lives.
The last-minute decision raised questions
about how long Francis can continue to lead the Catholic Church.
A Vatican source told AFP on Friday there
was "no particular concern" about his health and the decision to pull
out had been "simply a measure of caution".
The Argentinian Jesuit had also cancelled
his participation in the "Via Crucis" in 2023, but that followed a
three-day hospital stay for bronchitis, and was announced well ahead of time.
Weeks later, he underwent a hernia operation.
Up until Friday, the pope had attended his
various engagements throughout the week, but he recently appeared tired and has
sometimes delegated speaking roles to colleagues.
Francis, who never takes holidays, made his
last trip in September, to the southern French city of Marseille. In December,
he cancelled a much-anticipated attendance at the COP28 climate summit in
Dubai.
His next scheduled trip is to Venice on
April 28. The Vatican has not yet confirmed a planned trip to Asia and Pacific
Ocean nations for this summer.
Francis has previously left the door open
to stepping down if he can no longer do the job. That would follow the example
of his immediate predecessor, Benedict XVI, who in 2013 became the first pope
since the Middle Ages to voluntarily step aside.
But in a memoir published this month, Francis wrote that he did "not have any cause serious enough to make me think of resigning".
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