Holy Week Schedule Released Without Pope’s Participation

Vatican City: The Vatican on Thursday unveiled the liturgical schedule for Holy Week and the Octave of Easter, spanning from Palm Sunday on April 13 to April 27, the day set for the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis. Notably absent from the calendar is the participation of the pope, as well as the names of other celebrants for the events, including Easter Sunday on April 20.

According to Ansa News Agency, the 88-year-old Pontiff recently left the hospital after a lengthy 38-day battle with pneumonia and is expected to undergo at least two months of recovery. This period of convalescence has resulted in the current absence of the pope from the Holy Week schedule.

The canonization of Carlo Acutis, a young student from Lombardy who passed away from leukemia at 15 in 2006, is scheduled for April 27. Acutis, who has been a significant figure for young Christian believers and is often referred to as a ‘patron saint of the internet,’ was beatified on October 10, 2020, in Assisi. His canonization will be a central event of the Roman Catholic Jubilee.