Pope Francis skips Palm Sunday homily at start of busy Holy Week that will test his health

By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has decided at the last minute to skip his homily during Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square. He is avoiding a strenuous speech at the start of a busy Holy Week that will test his increasingly frail health. He has been hobbled by respiratory problems and bad knees. The 87-year-old pontiff blessed the palm fronds and olive branches carried by the faithful from the altar. Vatican officials estimated some 25,000 people attended the Mass, held under a sunny, breezy spring sky. Off and on this winter, Francis has been battling what he and the Vatican have described as a case of the flu, bronchitis or a cold.