WNAM MONITORING: Pope Francis took part in the Easter Vigil service at the Vatican on Saturday, a day after the last-minute cancellation of his presence at a major Good Friday procession revived questions about his health.
The 87-year-old pontiff arrived to preside over the Easter Vigil at Saint Peter’s Basilica in front of some 6,000 people from around the world shortly before 7:30 pm (1830 GMT).
A day after cancelling his appearance at the Stations of the Cross (“Via Crucis”) ceremony, Pope Francis, clad in white, arrived in a wheelchair shortly before the service.
The Vatican had confirmed earlier in the day that he would attend.
After the rite of light in a basilica plunged into darkness to symbolize the passage from death to life of Christ, Francis delivered a 10-minute homily in Italian, speaking without any undue difficulty.
He spoke out against “the walls of selfishness and indifference” in the world and lamented “all the aspirations for peace shattered by the cruelty of hatred and the ferocity of war”.
Later in the service he baptized eight adults.
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 worshipers massed behind the barriers, moving down the main aisle of the basilica.
Sunday’s Easter Mass and the “Urbi et Orbi” blessing that follows it will be broadcast live around the world.
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 — the pope’s chair was already in place for the procession — and the lack of detail in the statement added to doubts about his health and questions as to how long he can continue to lead the Catholic Church and its 1.3 billion followers.
