Two days after his resignation from Gemelli, Pope Francis has returned to the traditional audiences in the Vatican
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Bergoglio, who in any case celebrated Palm Sunday in St. Peter's Square yesterday, received the premier of Bosnia and Herzegovina but also INPS employees.
Meetings that were on the calendar and that were confirmed despite the 'ailments' that had forced the pontiff to be hospitalized last week for respiratory problems.
And today Holy Week officially kicks off, full of rites and celebrations in which, for the moment, the presence of Francis is confirmed.
The only "mystery", so to speak, is reserved for the contents of the Via Crucis on Friday.
It is not excluded that the Meditations, as also happened last year, may once again touch on the subject of Peace, repeatedly at the center of the Pope's appeals during the audiences and celebrations after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The approach to Easter Sunday therefore opens with three audiences, one with the premier of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Borjana Krišto, one with Father Carlos Alberto Trovarelli, general minister of the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor Conventual, and one with the leaders of the Inps on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the social security institution.
To these he reiterated the importance of the dignity of work, launching an appeal to fight illegal work and precariousness, which - in Francis' words - expose workers to exploitation and injustice.
The Pope's agenda, however, will become increasingly busy in the coming days.
On Wednesday, one week after being admitted to the Gemelli Polyclinic, he will hold the traditional general audience in the Paul VI Hall,
while on Thursday he will first celebrate the Chrism mass in the Vatican Basilica and then in the afternoon he will return to the juvenile prison of Casal del Marmo, in Rome, for the washing of the feet.
Bergoglio chose the same institute where ten years ago, in 2013, he decided to celebrate the function of the Easter triduum, just 15 days after his election.
Friday, then, will be the turn of the Via Crucis at the Colosseum.
As has been the case for many months now, the Pope will be flanked by a cardinal, probably the vicar of Rome Angelo De Donatis, in the 14 stages of the rite.
The content of this year's Meditations has yet to be known, and it will be difficult for them not to mention the war in Ukraine, which has now lasted for over a year.
Something could also change in the celebration of the rite which last year triggered a "diplomatic incident" due to Francis' decision to have a Ukrainian and a Russian woman carry the cross together.
A choice that was defined as "inopportune" by Kiev due to the fact that it placed aggressors and attacked on the same level.
What is certain is that the celebrations will see the presence of the Pope, who will also preside over the Easter vigil on Saturday evening and the Easter mass, during which he will be assisted at the altar by the cardinal dean Giovanni Battista Re.