The 87-year-old pope has been suffering on and off from bronchitis and influenza and has delegated an aide to read his addresses for him, but on Sunday his prepared text was not read at all
Pope Francis at the last minute skipped reading his homily during a Palm Sunday Mass for tens of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square but continued presiding at the service, read his noon prayer and was driven around the crowd in a popemobile.
It is very unusual for a pope to totally skip a homily at a major event such as Palm Sunday, which marks the start of Holy Week, a busy period leading to Easter. An announcer on Vatican Radio then said the pope had decided to not read the homily. The pope, dressed in red vestments, continued presiding, reading parts of the Mass.
The clerics, along with participants in a crowd estimated by Vatican police at about 60,000 people, held palm fronds and olive branches at the service.
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