VATICAN CITY : Rites of the Season
In the annual celebration of Christmastide, Pope John Paul II will conduct the traditional Mass on Sunday morning at St. Peter’s, the largest church in Christendom, in the midst of a busy weekend of activities. Later that day, speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter’s, the Roman Catholic pontiff will deliver his annual blessing entitled “Urbi et Orbi,” or “To the City and the World.”
The Pope’s seasonal ceremonies commence on Thursday when he tenders Christmas greetings to the cardinals, the pontifical family and the Curia at the Sala Clementina of the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican. At midnight Saturday, he will conduct the midnight Mass at St. Peter’s, at the altar where only a Pope can say Mass.
Polish-born John Paul is the first non-Italian Pope in 4 1/2 centuries.
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