The mass on the occasion of Corpus Christi and its traditional procession has been canceled due to the impossibility of Pope Francis to celebrate it due to persistent knee pain, that prevents you from walking and being on your feet for a long timethe Vatican reported.
"Due to the limitations imposed on the pope by the gonalgia and the specific liturgical needs of the celebration, Holy Mass will not be celebrated and the procession with the Eucharistic blessing of the feast of Corpus Christi"communicated the Vatican in a note.
In past celebrations, such as the mass for the Pentecost festival on June 5, or the canonization of various blesseds, Pope Francis was present in the front row seated in a wheelchair and read the homily prepared for the occasion, while the Mass was officiated by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals.
On this occasion, it has been decided to definitively cancel this mass that Francis used to celebrate before the pandemic in some parish on the Roman outskirts.
The problems in his right knee also made him postpone, to a date yet to be defined, the trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan scheduled for early July on the advice of doctors, due to his knee pain, reported today The Vatican.
The doctors advised to the pope not to make efforts so as not to compromise the results of the knee therapies that began a few weeks ago and above all based on infiltrations and rest.
The Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, stressed that the trip has been "postponed and not canceled"affirmed that improvements are being seen in the evolution of knee pain and that "feel less pain"but what "the doctors have explained that an excessive effort could cause it to return to the previous situation and not recover the advantages achieved so far".
A few days ago, during the meeting with the Italian bishops, Francis confessed to them that he did not want to have surgery and that he will continue with the infiltrations to cure his ailment, according to the newspaper "Il Messagero".
