Pope Proclaims Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati Saints

Pope Francis at the general audience in St. Peter’s Square on April 20, 2022. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Apr 22, 2022 / 04:52 am (CNA).

Pope Francis’ agenda was cleared on Friday for needed medical checkups, a Vatican spokesperson said.

Francis, who is 85 years old, has been suffering from pain in his right knee, causing him to take smaller roles in some Vatican liturgies and to remain seated more often.

“The pope has slowed down his activities today because of medical checkups that are needed today. That is why the schedule is empty today,” Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, said on April 22.

The pope’s movements have been visibly more limited since the start of the year.

At a general audience on Jan. 26, he said the reason he was unable to greet pilgrims as usual was because of a temporary “problem with my right leg,” an inflamed knee ligament.

With a smile, he added: “They say this only comes to old people, and I don’t know why it has come to me, but … I don’t know.”

On Good Friday, Pope Francis did not prostrate himself on the ground before the cross as he usually does during the liturgy for the Lord’s Passion.

Unexpectedly, the pope also opted to not celebrate the Vatican’s Easter Vigil Mass on Holy Saturday, though he attended, delivered the homily, and baptized several new Catholics.

And on Easter Sunday, he had to sit down part way through his delivery of the Urbi et Orbi message and blessing.

Pope Francis has also received more assistance walking and going up and down stairs in recent weeks. 

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Pope Francis prays before a statue of Our Lady of Fatima May 13, 2015. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA.

Vatican City, May 1, 2021 / 11:30 am (CNA).
Pope Francis prayed a rosary Saturday for an end to the coronavirus pandemic, imploring the Virgin Mary to in… […]

The body of Pope Francis lies in state at the Vatican’s Domus Sanctae Marthae chapel, surrounded by Swiss Guards, cardinals, and Vatican officials paying their respects before his transfer to St. Peter’s Basilica for public veneration, Monday, April 21, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Apr 22, 2025 / 06:55 am (CNA).

The Vatican on Tuesday released the first photos of Pope Francis after his death, showing him dressed in red vestments and lying in a simple, wooden coffin inside the chapel of the Santa Marta guesthouse. 

The photos, taken on the evening of April 21 during the first step of the papal funeral rites, show the pontiff, who died earlier in the day at the age of 88, holding a rosary and wearing the papal miter and pallium. The lit Easter candle is visible to Francis’ right, and he is flanked by Swiss Guards. 

The photos also show scenes from the “rite of the ascertainment of death and deposition in the coffin,” the first stage in the papal funeral rites, which was presided over by the camerlengo, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, on April 21.  

The photos also show the sealing of the papal apartments in the Casa Santa Marta, where Pope Francis lived during his pontificate. 

Farrell — along with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and his deputy Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra — also closed and sealed the papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace, as called for by protocol. 

On April 22, the Vatican’s liturgical office also published information about what will happen next in the funeral rites for Pope Francis. 

Pope Francis’ casket will be moved to St. Peter’s Basilica in a solemn procession on the morning of Wednesday, April 23, and placed near the basilica’s main altar for the public to view the body, pray, and say goodbye. 

Pope Francis’ funeral Mass, called the “Missa poenitentialis,” will be held in St. Peter’s Square at 10 a.m. local time on Saturday, April 26. 

The funeral will mark the first day of the “novendiales,” nine consecutive days of mourning for the pope. 

Also on Tuesday morning, the College of Cardinals met for the first of its “general congregations,” pre-conclave meetings of cardinals to discuss important Church business during the sede vacante (vacant see of Peter), issues facing the universal Church, and what qualities could be desirable in the next pope. 

According to the Holy See Press Office around 60 cardinals were present for the first general congregation, which included prayer for Pope Francis and the reading of his final testament.  

The college also chose three cardinals to assist Farrell, the camerlengo, over the next three days: Cardinals Pietro Parolin, Fabio Baggio, and Stanisław Ryłko. The second meeting will be held on the afternoon of April 23.  

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