Pope prescribed two months of rest

The Catholic Church starts its busiest week of the year on Sunday with the countdown to Easter, but Pope Francis remains out of public view after surviving double pneumonia and it is unclear whether he will take any part in the celebrations.

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Doctors have prescribed the 88-year-old pontiff two months of rest to allow him to fully heal, meaning he may spend much or all of Holy Week when Christians recall Jesus's suffering, death and resurrection - out of public view.

"This will certainly be a very different Holy Week for the pope and for the Catholic faithful," said Anna Rowlands, a Catholic academic at England's Durham University.

"The near silence of the pope... could intensify the meaning of parts of the week for many," she said.