Vatican’s Easter Mass opens without Pope Francis

Belfast Telegraph - 20/04
The Vatican celebrated Easter on Sunday without Pope Francis presiding, as the pontiff continues his recovery from a near-fatal bout of double pneumonia.

In his place, Cardinal Angelo Comastri, the retired archpriest of St Peter’s Basilica, celebrated the open-air Mass before thousands of people in St Peter’s Square on a chilly but sunny spring morning.

Francis, 88, has only appeared in public a handful of times since returning to the Vatican on March 23, after a 38-day hospital stay.

He missed the solemn services of Good Friday and Holy Saturday leading up to Easter, but he was expected to make an appearance on Sunday, according to the Mass booklet and liturgical plans released by the Vatican.

Missionaries of Charity nuns arrive for the Easter mass (Gregorio Borgia/AP)

Easter is the most joyful moment in the Christian liturgical cale...
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