Pope Francis will not be able to celebrate New Year’s Mass on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning at St. Peter’s Basilica because he suffers from sciatica, the Vatican has announced.
The devastating zero condition that causes hip pain for the 84-year-old meant that “tonight’s and tomorrow’s celebrations … will not be led by the Holy Father,” the Vatican said. Matteo Bruni in a statement.
Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, will celebrate the vespers on Thursday, while Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin – the pope’s right-hand man – will officiate over New Year’s Day Mass, Bruni said.
Later on Friday, the pontiff will lead Angelus’ prayer from the library in the Abstol Palace “as expected,” the man said.
Shortly before Christmas, two cardinals in the pope’s entourage signed a contract on Covid-19, raising fears that Francis, who rarely wears a mask, would threaten infection.
In addition to the official events of the Argentinian-born pope reported by the Holy See press office, he also has many private meetings at the Vatican inn Santa Marta, where he resides.
During the first lock in Italy in March, Francis delivered his Angelus Sunday prayers from the Vatican library instead of his usual window overlooking crowds on St. Peter’s Square.
The restraint made him feel “caged”, and he appeared several times at the window, greeting the few people who went out into the large square.
The pope has a risk factor for Covid in addition to his advanced age. When he was 21 in 1957, he suffered severe pleurisy, requiring surgery to remove part of his right lung, according to biographer Austen Ivereigh.
The Vatican has not yet announced when the vaccine could be vaccinated against Covid-19.