POPE Francis is set to miss Good Friday’s late-night procession for the first time since he got elected.
The 86-year-old who was recently hospitalised with a respiratory infection won’t preside over Good Friday’s late-night Way of the Cross event.
The Vatican said in a statement that instead of presiding over the torch-lit procession at the Colosseum, Francis will watch from the hotel where he lives in the Vatican.
The Pope will miss the procession due to Rome’s cold weather, the Vatican added.
He will still attend the earlier Passion of the Lord celebration at St. Peter’s Basilica.
There, the cross will be unveiled before it goes to the Colosseum for the procession.
Francis, 86, was discharged from a Rome hospital on Saturday following treatment for bronchitis.
The Vatican said at the time that he would carry out the complete Holy Week schedule, including the Way of the Cross procession and Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peters Square.
On Thursday, he presided over Mass in St. Peters Basilica and later washed and dried the feet of a dozen residents of a Rome juvenile prison in a ritual symbolizing humility.
The Pope was rushed to hospital by ambulance after his weekly audience last Wednesday.