Pope Francis paid a short visit and without notice on Saturday to Basilika St. Peter to pray before the Easter night tonight and greet some loyal gifts.
The 88 -year -old whale, in a wheelchair, arrived at around 6 pm local time accompanied by his nurse and stayed for about a quarter of an hour, stopped to pray at the tomb of St. Peter, the Italian press service report Ansa reported.
The Pope greeted those who were present before returning to his residence.
In the race for this screen from a video, Pope Francis greets people in Basilica St. Peter, on April 19, 2025.
Deborah Tomlinson/in the Vatican
The Vatican confirmed that Pope Francis “went to St. Petrus Basilica for the prayer period, to be close to the believers who would celebrate guard from the Holy Night Easter in the next few hours,” a statement read.
This is the latest Pope’s public performance during the holy week. On Thursday, he met around 70 inmates in prison in Rome.
“Every year I like to do what Jesus did on the holy Thursday, laundering, in prison,” Pope told the participants, according to a statement from the Vatican. “This year I can’t do it but I want to be close to you. I pray for you and all your family.”
The Pope also appeared in a mass on the field of St. Peter at Palm Sunday, greeted the crowd of thousands of people gathered for this service.
Francis mostly remains outside the public view since being released in March from the Gemelli Roman Hospital, where he spent more than five weeks after being diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia.
Francis delegated to two of its cardinals in leading the Easter masses this weekend, said the Vatican press office on Wednesday.