Holy Week in Rome this year will return to as close as possible to how it was pre-pandemic.
Those present at the ceremonies will have to wear masks, but there will no longer be restrictions on the number of people able to attend.
Pope Francis will preside over all the major ceremonies, beginning with Palm Sunday Mass at 10 A.M. local time in St. Peter's Square.
On Holy Thursday, he will celebrate the Chrism Mass at 9:30 A.M. The Vatican has not yet announced where he will go for the ceremonies that afternoon, which includes the washing of the feet, an imitation of the act which Jesus performed with his disciples. Last year, Pope Francis celebrated it together with Cardinal Angelo Becciu, whom the Pope had forced to give up his duties as a Cardinal only months prior.
On Good Friday, he will preside over the liturgy for the Passion of the Lord at 5:30 P.M. At 9:15 P.M., the Stations of the Cross will return to the Colosseum. In the last two years, the Vatican has offered a very contained Stations of the Cross due to the pandemic.
It's possible that the war in Ukraine will be a focus of the meditations for this year's Stations of the Cross.
The Pope will close Holy Week with a 10 A.M. Mass in St. Peter's Square and the Urbi et Orbi blessing.
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TR: JM
