The Pope has a cold and will skip his usual Sunday outdoor prayer, instead giving a blessing indoors a few days before his Christmas Mass and Mass of the Day, the Vatican e said Saturday.
Cold weather and the pope's busy schedule during Christmas week were cited as reasons for the 88-year-old to give the blessing from his chapel in the Vatican's Santa Marta quarters.
The pope often addresses the public from the window of the Basilica of St. Peter facing St. Peter's Square on Sundays.
BIDEN HEADS TO VATICAN CITY NEXT MONTH TO MEET POPE FRANCIS, ON HIS LAST LEGAL JOURNEY.
Pope Francis exchanges seasonal greetings with Vatican staff on Saturday. (AP Photo/Andrew Medicine)
Pope Francis sounded busy on Saturday as he delivered his annual Christmas greeting to Vatican officials.
The octogenarian has had bronchitis before, including last year when he was in hospital, and missed the climate change conference in Dubai last year due to flu and pneumonia.
The Pope has a cold and will skip his usual Sunday outdoor prayer, instead giving a blessing indoors a few days before his Christmas Mass and Mass of the Day, the Vatican e said Saturday. (AP Photo/Andrew Medicine)
POPE FRANCIS WAS APPEARED TO HAVE BEEN ALMOST DIVORCED DURING NAKELE'S IRAQ TRIP.
The Pope developed pleurisy in his 20s and had to have part of his lung removed. a native of Argentina.
The pope often addresses the public from the window of the Basilica of St. Peter facing St. Peter's Square on Sundays. (Riccardo De Luca/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Christmas Eve is also the start of the Vatican's Holy Year where around 32 million pilgrims are expected to visit Rome throughout 2025.
The Pope will open the Holy Door of the Basilica of St. Peter's Basilica on Christmas Eve and on December 26, he will go to the main prison in Rome to inaugurate the beginning of the Holy Year there.
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The Holy Year, also known as Jubilee, usually held every 25 years.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.