| Credit: Vatican Pool - Corbis/Getty
Pope Francis will not take part in the Vatican’s New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day ceremonies this year while he tends to a “painful” back condition.
Francis, 84, announced on Thursday that he will be sidelined from both the year-end prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica on New Year’s Eve and Mass on New Year’s Day, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said, per the Associated Press. Get push notifications with news, features and more. + Follow
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Bruni said Francis was suffering from “painful sciatica,” something he has dealt with in the past, but would still deliver his scheduled New Year’s blessing in the library of the Apostolic Palace at noon on F