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Pope Francis celebrates Palm Sunday mass

Pope Francis celebrated Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City. He prayed for those who died in the Germanwings Flight 9525 crash last Tuesday.

By Denise Royal
Pope Francis celebrates Palm Sunday Mass in Vatican City. Pope Francis seen here in December. UPI/Stefano Spaziari
Pope Francis celebrates Palm Sunday Mass in Vatican City. Pope Francis seen here in December. UPI/Stefano Spaziari | License Photo

VATICAN CITY, March 29 (UPI) -- At his annual Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, Pope Francis prayed for those who died in the Germanwings Flight 9525 crash last Tuesday. The disaster killed 150 people, including the co-pilot who investigators say deliberately slammed the plane into a mountain.

The Pope clutched a palm frond during the traditional procession according to NBC News. Unlike many of his predecessors, the pontiff leaned on a plain pastoral staff, instead of a more ornate one. Tens of thousands of pilgrims held olive and palm branches aloft as they joined His Holiness in St Peter's Square.

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In his homily, Pope Francis -- who last month denounced the killing of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians in Libya by Islamic State militants -- remembered those he said were being killed for their faith, reported the UK's Telegraph newspaper.

The Palm Sunday celebration marks Jesus Christ's entry into Jerusalem before his arrest and crucifixion, when the people of the city laid palm branches in his path.

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