How much pope will there be at Easter?

Every year, the same worrying scenario greets us: Easter is just around the corner and the Catholic Church is worried about the Pope's participation in the important celebrations. In 2023 and 2024, the Vatican left it open for a long time whether Francis would be present and at which rites. Even then, the head of the Church's respiratory infection made long-term planning impossible.

Following his long hospitalisation, the 88-year-old is currently on the road to recovery. Although his doctor has prescribed otherwise, the people-loving Francis has been going out in public again and again for almost two weeks. Despite the risk of infection, he greets guests in his residential wing in the Vatican and allows himself to be driven through well-attended churches in a wheelchair - greeting and blessing those present included.

Francis' appearance also depends on the weather

His appearance at the end of the Palm Sunday mass in St Peter's Square - although unannounced - came as little surprise. It is highly likely that he will do the same on the coming public holidays. His spokesman Matteo Bruni does not want to commit himself yet and makes Francis' appearance dependent on the weather, among other things.

For the traditional Good Friday Stations of the Cross at the Roman Colosseum, this means that he will probably be absent. According to the forecast, it is expected to be rainy and windy. The Cardinal Vicar of the Diocese of Rome, Baldassare Reina, is to lead the ceremony. In the past two years, the weakened Pope has not attended the evening event in the open air.

The weekend is expected to be sunny and dry again. These are ideal conditions for the big Easter mass on Sunday morning. The Pope has now appointed Cardinal Angelo Comastri (81), former Vicar General of the Vatican City State and head of the cathedral construction centre, to preside over it. Nevertheless, it is very possible that Francis will be present in St Peter's Square, which is lavishly decorated with flowers.

He is unlikely to miss the subsequent important blessing "Urbi et orbi" (To the city and the world) from the balcony of St Peter's Basilica. Although it is still difficult for him to speak at length, the Pope can delegate the reading of his Easter message - and, if necessary, the blessing itself.

Internal hierarchical wrangling among the cardinals?

Francis has now entrusted Cardinal Dean Giovanni Battista Re (91) with leading the Easter Vigil on Saturday, which takes place in St Peter's Basilica regardless of the weather. On Holy Thursday, the Pope traditionally washes the feet of twelve people in memory of Jesus' gesture of humility when he washed the feet of his disciples before the Last Supper. In recent years, Francis has usually performed this highly symbolic act on prison inmates. The location is always only announced a few hours beforehand. Should the 88-year-old wish to continue this rite in the current situation, this time people could be brought to him in the Vatican.

One thing is already clear: even if the Pope takes part in the celebrations, the ceremonies will be led by others. Due to his limited mobility, this has been customary for years. Nevertheless, the Vatican has long kept the main celebrants for the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday Mass a secret. It is unclear whether an internal hierarchical tussle among the cardinals was responsible for this - or merely the general uncertainty due to Pope Francis' fragile state.