With the bronchitis still present and having moved his meetings to Casa Santa Marta a few days earlier, the pope appeared at the Mass for the Jubilee of the Armed Forces.
It was in St. Peter's Square despite the low temperatures and the fact that the pope was not yet recovered. He had symptoms of respiratory difficulty and, in fact, began to read the homily, but just two minutes later, he had to stop.
POPE FRANCIS
And now I apologize a little and ask the Master [of Liturgical Celebrations] to continue reading due to my difficulty in breathing.
The celebration was attended by some 40,000 faithful, the vast majority of whom were from the security forces of different countries, dressed in their respective uniforms.
At the end of the Mass, the Pope took the floor again for the Angelus prayer. He thanked the chaplains for their pastoral service and also thanked all the military personnel of the world for their daily work.
POPE FRANCIS
This armed service is to be exercised only in self-defense, never to impose dominion over the other nations, always observing international conventions on conflict and, before that, in sacred respect for life and creation.
In this type of outdoor celebrations, the pope usually takes the opportunity to greet the faithful from the popemobile, but this time, he left directly for home in a black fiat without being able to go around St. Peter's Square.
CA
TR: JH
