The pope has caught a cold and will skip his usual outdoor Sunday prayer and instead give the blessing indoors just days before his Christmas Eve and Christmas masses, the Vatican said Saturday.
Cool weather and the pope’s busy schedule during Christmas week were cited as reasons for the 88-year-old to give the blessing from his residence in the chapel in the Vatican’s Santa Marta district.
Normally on Sundays, the Pope speaks to the public from the window of St. Peter’s Basilica overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
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Pope Francis exchanged Christmas greetings with Vatican employees on Saturday. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Pope Francis appeared crowded on Saturday as he delivered his annual Christmas greeting to Vatican bureaucrats.
The octogenarian has suffered from bronchitis before, including last year when he was hospitalized, and he also missed a climate conference in Dubai last year due to flu and pneumonia.
The pope has caught a cold and will skip his usual outdoor Sunday prayer and instead give the blessing indoors just days before his Christmas Eve and Christmas masses, the Vatican said Saturday. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
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The pope developed pleurisy in his 20s and had to have part of his lung removed in his home country of Argentina.
The pope usually addresses the public on Sundays 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 travel to Rome in 2025.
The pope will open the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve and go to Rome’s main prison on December 26 to mark the start of the Holy Year.
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The Holy Year, also known as the Jubilee, usually occurs every 25 years.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.