As Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis will return to one of the city's major basilicas to preside over a special celebration: the Solemnity of Corpus Christi. It will be on June 2 when, after 7 years, he will be seen again at a Mass at St. John Lateran and, after the procession, at the Basilica of St. Mary Major for the Eucharistic blessing.
The last time Francis was in these two papal basilicas for Corpus Christi was in 2017. During the two years following, he changed location.
In 2018, he celebrated Mass in a small town near Rome named Ostia, alongside over ten thousand people.
In 2019, the Pope visited a popular Roman neighborhood away from the typical tourist areas of the city: Casal Bertone. There, he presided over Mass in a church only 75 years old, that was also visited by popes such as Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
But due to his health problems and the pandemic, Pope Francis has not returned to Rome's Basilica of St. John Lateran to celebrate Corpus Christi.
Because of the pandemic, in 2020 and 2021, he stayed in the Vatican and celebrated Mass with a small group in St. Peter's Basilica.
In 2022 and 2023, the liturgy was cancelled because of Francis' health. First, because of his knee problems and, last year, because of his abdominal surgery.
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