Pope skips Good Friday event to preserve health ahead of Easter: Vatican

Pope Francis skipped the traditional Good Friday procession at Rome's Colosseum, the Vatican said, adding to concerns about his frail health during a particularly busy liturgical period.

Francis had been expected to preside over the Way of the Cross procession, which re-enacts Christ's Passion and crucifixion, and composed the meditations that are read aloud at each station. But just as the event was about to begin, the Vatican announced that Francis was following the event from his home at the Vatican.

It was the first time he had skipped the traditional, evocative event in his 11-year papacy, an event that St. John Paul II famously skipped just before he died in 2005.

"To conserve his health in view of the vigil tomorrow and Mass on Easter Sunday, Pope Francis will follow the Via Crucis at the Colosseum this evening from the Casa Santa Marta," a statement from the Vatican press office said.

The 87-year-old Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has been battling what he and the Vatican have described as a case of the flu, bronchitis or a cold all winter long. For the last several weeks he has occasionally asked an aide to read aloud his speeches and skipped his Palm Sunday homily altogether.