POPE John Paul, apparently heeding medical advice to conserve his strength, will skip Christmas Day Mass this year, the Vatican said yesterday.
The Mass, celebrated in St Peter's Basilica, did not appear on a programme of papal events scheduled between December 21st and January 13th.
There did not appear to be any other changes on the schedule when compared with previous years' programmes and the Vatican did not say if the Christmas Day Mass would be held by a papal aide in St Peter's, Christendom's largest church.
But the fact that the Pope will miss one of the key celebrations of the Christian liturgical calendar again underscored that old age is taking its toll on the stamina of the leader of the world's some 960 million Roman Catholics.
The 76-year-old Pope will preside at a Christmas Eve Mass on December 24th in St Peter's Basilica and deliver his customary "Urbi et Orhi" blessing to the city and the world at noon on Christmas Day from the basilica's central balcony.
The Vatican gave no official explanation of why the Christmas Day Mass did not appear on the Pope's schedule.
Celebrating the Mass would have permitted the Pope very little rest between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day activities. The ageing pontiff is not expected to go to bed before 3.00 a.m., for just a quick sleep, as he rises each day at 5.30 a.m. for private Mass.
When he left hospital in October after having his appendix removed, doctors ordered the Polish Pope to rest more.
Christmas is the busiest season of the year for the Pope. Last year, the Pope had to skip the Christmas Day Mass when he was taken ill during the night. He had to interrupt his "Urbi et Orbi" address on live television when he felt ill again as he was reading it.