Due to a painful sciatica, the pope will not celebrate the Te Deum prayer on Dec. 31, nor the Mass on Jan. 1. They will be celebrated by Card. Giovanni Battista Re and Card. Pietro Parolin, respectively.
It isn't the first time Pope Francis suffers from this problem. When he returned from his first international trip, he jokingly confessed that the worst he had suffered as pope to that day was precisely this sort of pain.
POPE FRANCIS
July 28, 2013
“The worst thing, sorry, that has happened was a sciatica. Really! I experienced this in my first month as pope because when I would give interviews, I would sit in an armchair that caused this problem. It's a very very painful sciatica. I wouldn't wish it upon anyone.”
Nor is this the first time Pope Francis cancels an event for health reasons, though it has been a long time since a similar event. The most significant was the cancellation of a visit to Gemelli Hospital in 2014.
MSGR. CLAUDIO GIULIODORI
Catholic University of the Sacred Heart
June 27, 2014
“The Holy Father, due to a last-minute indisposition, will be unable to make the scheduled visit to Gemelli Hospital.”
Toward the end of February, the pope postponed some meetings due to a light cold. However, he never chose not to celebrate liturgical ceremonies like in this case.
The Holy See's statement makes no mention of the coronavirus. The distribution of Covid-19 vaccines in the Vatican could begin on Jan. 4, and the pope himself could be the first to receive it.
Javier Romero
Translation: CT
