Vatican says cardinals to celebrate Holy Week liturgies as Pope Francis' health improves
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Pope Francis kisses the foot of one of the 12 women whose feet he washed at the Rebibbia Women's Prison in Rome on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Apr 15, 2025 / 10:38 am (CNA).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 medita...
Pope Francis kisses the foot of one of the 12 women whose feet he washed at the Rebibbia Women's Prison in Rome on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Apr 15, 2025 / 10:38 am (CNA).
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.
For the first time since his 39-day hospitalization earlier this year, the pope was not wearing nasal tubes for breathing help during his brief appearance at the end of the public Mass.
According to Bruni, Francis is now able to go for longer periods without supplemental oxygen, except as needed at night. The pontiff's mobility and voice are also improving, and he is holding short work meetings to discuss important Church business with the heads of Vatican dicasteries.
Pope Francis has no public schedule while convalescing from multiple respiratory infections that landed him in the hospital in February, but he has made several unexpected appearances in the last week, including a visit to pray before his favorite Marian icon, "Salus Populi Romani," at the Basilica of St. Mary Major on April 12.
The pope also surprised tourists and pilgrims in St. Peter's Basilica on April 10 when he was wheeled into the Vatican basilica wearing a white undershirt and black pants while draped in a blanket instead of being dressed in his usual white cassock and zucchetto.
Now just over three weeks since his release from hospital, the appearances mark the pope's gradual resumption of public life during a convalescence expected to last several more weeks.
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A delegation of Peruvian bishops greets Pope Leo XIV, inviting him to visit Peru, during an audience on June 30, 2025, at the Vatican. / Credit: Peruvian Episcopal ConferenceACI Prensa Staff, Jul 1, 2025 / 15:47 pm (CNA).The Peruvian bishops have officially invited Pope Leo XIV to visit Peru, assuring him that "his presence will renew the hope of our people."According to a statement from the Peruvian Bishops' Conference (CEP, by its Spanish acronym), a delegation of bishops, including the conference president, Bishop Carlos García Camader of Lurín, met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on June 30.During the audience, "the bishops extended an official invitation to him to make a pastoral visit to Peru," the CEP stated.Leo XIV, born in Chicago as Robert Francis Prevost in 1955, lived in Peru for nearly 20 years, serving at different times in various capacities from parochial vicar of Chulucanas in the Piura region to bishop of Chiclayo. He became a Peruvian citizen in 2015.Greetin...
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A 20-foot, 800-pound cross that has traveled to almost 50 European capitals, known as the "Cross of Gratitude," has recently been welcomed by a Ukrainian Greek Catholic church in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, the first parish of the Greek Catholic rite in America. / Courtesy: St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Greek Catholic ChurchWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 1, 2025 / 16:17 pm (CNA).A 20-foot, 800-pound cross that has traveled to almost 50 European capitals, known as the "Cross of Gratitude," has recently been welcomed by a Ukrainian Greek Catholic church in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, the first parish of the Greek Catholic rite in America."It is a great honor and a blessing for the Parish of St. Michael the Archangel to host the Cross of Gratitude, a sacred symbol of Christ's boundless love and sacrifice," St. Michael's parish priest Father Bohdan Vasyliv told CNA. "We warmly invite all to visit, pray, and reflect before this holy cross, giving thanks for the gift of salvat...
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Father Héctor Alejandro Pérez. / Credit: St. Francis of Assisi Parish, South GaviotasPuebla, Mexico, Jul 1, 2025 / 17:19 pm (CNA).The Diocese of Tabasco in Mexico reported June 30 that one of its priests was wounded by gunfire while on his way to visit a sick parishioner. The attack was apparently a case of mistaken identity.The bishop of the diocese, Gerardo de Jesús Rojas López, shared a statement explaining that at approximately 5:45 a.m. local time, Father Héctor Alejandro Pérez, a parish priest at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Villahermosa, the capital of Tabasco state, was shot.The assailant apparently mistook the priest "for someone else. Father Héctor was leaving the rectory to visit a sick person at home," Rojas stated.Following the attack, the priest underwent surgery. According to the bishop, Pérez is reported to be in critical condition, "with a guarded prognosis due to blood loss and the complexity of his internal injuries."Rojas also made an urgent appeal t...
