Pope Francis celebrated the beginning of Holy Week, the last seven days before Easter, joining 100,000 believers in St. Peter's Square (Piazza San Pietro) in the Vatican. According to biblical writings, on Palm Sunday, Catholics and Orthodox celebrate the day Jesus entered Jerusalem, exactly one week before his crucifixion.
Pope Francis led the procession of believers, marching to the church of St. Peter, and then gave them his blessing and addressed everyone present with a speech. The pope today dressed up in red robes symbolizing the blood of Christ. In his speech, the head of the Catholic Church spoke about the last two days of Jesus' life, mentioned the treacherous betrayal of Judah, which followed this arrest, trial and crucifixion.
Later, Pope Francis called on the believers in the square to ask themselves who they looked like: those who helped Jesus, those who condemned him, or those who were indifferent to his fate. “Where is my heart? Who can I relate to? This question remains open throughout the week. ” - said the pontiff.
After completing his speech, Francis, weary of the two-hour service, seemed a little perked up. He gave smiles to all those present and willingly posed for photographs. He did not refuse the request to take a selfie together with young people from Rio de Janeiro who stood in the very center of the square with a large cross. Later, the pontiff went to his "papa-mobile" with a convertible top, greeting the believers on the go.
He almost got to his car when another group of admirers stopped him, asking him to pose for the next selfie.
After the Mass, Francis not only lavished smiles and took pictures with everyone, but also hugged the kids who came with his parents, and also tasted herbal tea from his native Argentina, kindly offered to him by one of the pilgrims.
Throughout the next week, the head of the Catholic Church will be extremely busy. He will hold two services on Good Thursday, during one of them the pontiff will wash the feet of the elderly in the nursing home, thereby repeating the actions of Christ on the night before his death. For the second year in a row, Francis, who insists that the church should be closer to the poor and needy, will spend Good Thursday outside the Vatican near one of the basilicas in Rome.
Last year, the heir to the Holy See held the same service in a juvenile delinquency colony and washed the feet of Muslim women.
Holy Week will end on St. Peter's Square next Sunday with a Mass dedicated to Easter. Nevertheless, many of the believers who came to the Vatican on the occasion of a bright holiday have already expressed a desire to linger for another week in order to personally attend during the canonization of the two predecessors of Pope Francis, John Paul II and John XXIII, which will be held April 27 on Sunday of Divine Mercy.
Previously, celebrations on this occasion were planned for the beginning of autumn, but the Pope repeatedly declared his desire to appoint canonization on April 27, explaining that this time is most suitable. According to the pontiff, pilgrims from Central and Eastern Europe would inevitably encounter a dangerous road caused by bad weather conditions, namely autumn torrential rains and wind, on the way to the Vatican.
It is worth noting that the solemn ceremony of erection of the holy popes will be broadcast on numerous television channels in different countries of the world. Moreover, some cinemas have already expressed their desire to broadcast canonization in 3D mode. Such a project was developed by the joint efforts of the Vatican Television, the digital network Sky Italia and Sony.
