In hospital, a resting Pope Francis sits out Sunday mass

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis sat out mass and his traditional Angelus prayer from hospital on Sunday, with a Vatican health official saying the 88-year-old pontiff needed to preserve his strength for the Church´s busy Jubilee year.

Francis was admitted on Friday to Rome´s Gemelli hospital with bronchitis, one of several bouts of flu or bronchitis he has caught in recent winters. The Vatican said on Saturday that doctors prescribed “absolute rest”, although they said tests had indicated some improvements in his condition.

Unable to attend Sunday mass at St Peter´s Basilica, the pope sent a written address to a group of artists and other cultural figures in attendance. “I would have liked to be among you but, as you know, I am here at the Gemelli Hospital because I still need some treatment for my bronchitis,” Francis wrote.

During the mass -- which is usually presided over by the pope -- Cardinal Jose Tolentino de Mendonca read Francis´s homily. “We live in a time when new walls are being erected, when differences become a pretext for division rather than an opportunity for mutual enrichment,” the cardinal read. “But you, men and women of the world of culture, are called to build bridges.”

The head of the health office for the Italian Bishops´ Conference, Massimo Angelelli, told AFPTV it was “absolutely necessary for him to recover his strength” as “the Jubilee is still long.”