Vatican City, 15 April, 2025 / 7:38 pm (ACI Africa).
For Holy Week, Pope Francis has delegated three cardinals to celebrate the Vatican’s Holy Thursday and Good Friday liturgies as the state of the pontiff’s health continues to steadily improve, the director of the Holy See Press Office said Tuesday.
The 88-year-old pope, who is recovering from a prolonged case of double pneumonia, has delegated Italian Cardinal Domenico Calcagno to celebrate the chrism Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on the morning of Holy Thursday.
Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, will lead the Passion service in the Vatican basilica on the afternoon of Good Friday, and the same evening, the vicar general of Rome, Cardinal Baldassare Reina, will preside over the Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum with meditations written by Francis.
It has not yet been decided who will celebrate the Easter Vigil Mass on Saturday evening and the Easter Sunday Mass, Holy See spokesperson Matteo Bruni said Tuesday.
How much Pope Francis will participate in Holy Week and Easter liturgies at the Vatican is also unclear after the 88-year-old pontiff made a surprise appearance in St. Peter’s Square during Palm Sunday Mass on April 13.
