Pope Leo XIV opens Holy Week with Palm Sunday recalling Pope Francis' final days

Pope Leo XIV led Palm Sunday services that recall the final Holy Week of Pope Francis, and he is scheduled to preside over Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil, and Easter Sunday liturgies.

Pope Leo XIV led Palm Sunday services in Rome as Holy Week began, and those observances have drawn connections to the final Holy Week of Pope Francis. Last year Francis had spent five weeks in hospital for double pneumonia, returned to greet the faithful on Easter Sunday, and died the following morning, Easter Monday, after suffering a stroke. The current pope is restoring some traditional settings for the week's rites while taking on the full liturgical schedule. Key details: - Pope Leo XIV presided over Palm Sunday services that the article says recall Francis' final Holy Week. - The article reports Francis had a five-week hospital stay for double pneumonia, returned to St. Peter's loggia on Easter Sunday, and died the following morning after a stroke; his nurse told Vatican Media Francis thanked him for bringing him back to the square. - Leo is returning the Holy Thursday foot-wash ceremony to the basilica of St. John Lateran; the Vatican has not announced who will participate. - During his 12-year pontificate, Francis often performed the Holy Thursday ritual in prisons and refugee centers and washed the feet of people from other faiths, a practice that received both praise and criticism. - Leo is due to preside over the Good Friday procession at the Colosseum, the late-night Easter Vigil where he will baptize new Catholics, and the Easter Sunday celebrations. Summary: Pope Leo XIV's liturgical program for Holy Week emphasizes traditional locations and rites while also evoking the final days of his predecessor, Pope Francis. He is scheduled to preside over Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday; details about participants in the foot-wash ceremony remain undetermined at this time.