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Reuters Staff
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis reappears on Friday after chronic sciatic pain forced him to miss the church’s New Year’s services, and made no mention of his ailment when he delivered his traditional call for world peace.
The pope was unable to attend services again on Thursday and Friday morning due to sciatica – a relatively common problem that causes pain under the hip nerve under the back and legs.
This is presumably the first time since he became pope in 2013 that Francis, who turned 84 last month, has been prevented from leading a major papal event by health reasons.
However, he showed no sign of discomfort when delivering an afternoon sermon and prayer while standing at a chair in the library of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.
‘Today’s life is governed by war, enmity, by many things that are destructive. We want peace. It’s a gift, ‘Francis said, adding that the response to the global coronavirus crisis shows the importance of burden sharing.
“The painful events that marked humanity’s journey last year, especially the pandemic, have taught us how much it takes to be interested in the problems of others and share their concerns about them,” he said.
The afternoon blessing is usually given from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square, but it has been moved indoors to prevent any crowds from gathering and restricting the spread of COVID-19.
Francis particularly emphasized his concerns about Yemen, which has been plagued by six years of violence, which has sparked a Saudi-led coalition against the Iranian Houthi movement. At least 22 people were killed in an attack at Aden airport on Wednesday, causing a new round of coalition airstrikes.
“I express my sadness and concern about the further increase in violence in Yemen, which is causing numerous innocent victims,” Francis said. “Let us think of the children of Yemen, without education, without medicine, without hunger.”