Watch live as Pope Francis leads Easter Mass at the Vatican

Watch live as Pope Francis leads Easter Mass at the Vatican on Sunday 31 March.

The pontiff yesterday soldiered through a more than two-hour Easter Vigil Mass in St Peter’s Basilica, one of the longest services in Catholic liturgy, amid renewed concerns about the 87-year-old’s frail condition.

His voice at times sounded raspy and out of breath, but he read out all of his prepared texts, including a more than one-page long homily, and he smiled and waved at the congregation as he left in a wheelchair.

In other occasions, Francis has delegated longer readings to aides.

On Friday, the pope skipped at the last minute the night-time Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession at Rome’s Colosseum in what the Vatican said was a bid to “preserve his health” ahead of other Holy Week events.

Francis is set to conclude Easter celebrations today with Mass in St Peter’s Square and his twice-annual “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) blessing and message from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica.

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