- Cindy Wooden (CNS, Vatican)
The Vatican has made public a complete calendar of the liturgies of Holy Week and Easter without indicating who will preside at each ceremony, so the question of the Pope's presence remains unknown. During his hospital stay at the Gemelli, the Pope began to concelebrate Holy Mass.
The list of Masses and other liturgiespublished by the master of papal liturgical ceremonies on March 27, only informs that the services would be celebrated by the "Pontifical Chapel", which includes the Pope, the cardinals residing in Rome and high Vatican officials.
We must wait to evaluate their possible presence
Asked about the role of Pope Francis in the celebrations, the Vatican press office responded that "it will be necessary to see improvements in the Pope's health in the coming weeks to evaluate his possible presence, and in what terms, in the Holy Week rites."
The 88-year-old Pope was discharged from Rome's Gemelli hospital on March 23 after 38 days of hospitalization due to respiratory problems, infections and double pneumonia. His doctors recommended two months of rest.
Divine Mercy Sunday: canonization of Carlo Acutis
The published list of liturgies ranges from the celebration of Palm Sunday, April 13, to the celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27, with the canonization of the young blessed Italian Carlo Acutis at the framework of the Jubilee of Adolescents.
A Vatican source said that while Pope Francis is expected to be present to proclaim Acutis a saint, it is enough for him to sign a decree of canonization; he can delegate someone else to preside over the rite. Acutis, an Italian, died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15.
Missing Mass of the Lord's Supper
Missing from the Vatican program is the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday and the ritual of the washing of the feet. Since becoming Pope in 2013, Pope Francis has celebrated Mass in a prison, hospital or detention center ,and the location has always been announced separately from the public papal Holy Week schedule.
Although Pope Francis has celebrated the Mass elsewhere, the parish of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican has its own evening Mass of the Lord's Supper.
Pope Francis' long struggle with bronchitis and respiratory problems had led to changes in previous Holy Week liturgies. Last year he did not read the Palm Sunday homily, opting instead for a moment of silence.
In both 2023 and 2024, illness also led him to skip the nightly Stations of the Cross service at the Colosseum in Rome.
Liturgical calendar
Here is the liturgical calendar published by the Vatican:
- April 13, Palm Sunday Mass at 10 a.m. in St. Peter's Square.
- April 17, 9:30 a.m., Chrism Mass at St. Peter's Basilica.
- April 18, 5:00 p.m., Liturgy of the Passion of the Lord in St. Peter's Basilica.
- April 18, 9.15 p.m., Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum in Rome.
- April 19, 7.30 p.m., Easter Vigil in St. Peter's Basilica.
- April 20, 10:30 a.m., Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square.
- April 27, 10:30 a.m., Divine Mercy Sunday Mass and canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis in St. Peter's Square.
