Pope Francis celebrates Christmas Eve Mass, at St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Friday Dec. 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Francis
ROME-(77WABC)- Pope Francis celebrated Christmas Eve Midnight Mass at Peter’s Basilica.
Francis who was not wearing a mask, walked down the aisle while the choir sang “Noel.
Mass actually began at 7:30 pm. Last year, the service had to end before Italy’s nationwide COVID-19 curfew. Pope Francis is 85.
About 2 thousand people attended the scaled back mass, which can normally hold 20 thousand worshippers.
There is no curfew in place this year, but cases of COVID have been spiking, requiring Vatican employees to be vaccinated.
