Suffering from a bitter cold, Pope Francis will lead Sunday prayers at his residence By Reuters

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis, who recently turned 88 and is suffering from a severe cold, will lead the regular Sunday Angelus prayer inside his house as a precaution, the Vatican said in a statement on Saturday.

The decision was taken due to the cold weather in Rome and the pope’s commitment during the coming Christmas week, it added.

Francis, who has been Pope since 2013, complained of the effects of his cold during an audience on Friday, but by early Saturday he had recovered enough to deliver his annual Christmas address to cardinals.

The Pope will give the Angelus on Sunday from the Vatican church of Santa Marta where he lives, rather than speaking to pilgrims through a window facing St.

Francis has been treated badly in recent years. At the age of 21, the then Jorge Bergoglio developed pleurisy and had part of one of his lungs removed in his native Argentina.

He has suffered from the flu and related complications several times since the start of 2023, canceling a planned trip to the COP28 climate conference in Dubai last year due to the effects of the flu and lungs.

He brought Angelus from Santa Marta last December as he recovered from that flu.

The coming days are expected to be especially intense because in addition to the usual Christmas services, the pope will mark the beginning of the Holy Year or Jubilee on Christmas Eve, December 24.

The Pope is scheduled to open the bronze door of St. Peter’s Basilica, which symbolizes the door of salvation for Catholics and is usually closed, to start the Jubilee.

Such Holy Years are usually held every 25 years and this one is expected to attract millions more visitors to the Vatican and Rome.