VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis will not lead mass at Saint Peter’s Basilica this weekend as he continues to recover from colon surgery earlier this month, the Holy See said today.

“It’s completely normal, the pope continues to heal,” the Holy See said in a statement.

The 84-year-old pope will nevertheless give the traditional Angelus prayer from the window of the Apostolic Palace following mass, it added. 

Mass to celebrate the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly on Sunday will be presided over by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization.

Francis, who underwent an operation on his colon on July 4, was discharged from the hospital after 10 days and returned to his home within the Vatican.

He had been admitted to hospital after suffering from a type of diverticulitis, an inflammation of pockets that develop in the lining of the intestine.