Pope Francis leads Easter Sunday mass to big crowds in Vatican Square

Papal Mass is the Solemn Pontifical High Mass celebrated by the Pope. It is celebrated on such occasions as a papal coronation, an ex cathedra pronouncement, the canonization of a saint, on Easter or Christmas or other major feast days. Until the 1960s, there were numerous special ceremonials that were particular to the pope. Many have fallen out of use; some were last celebrated by Pope Pius X (reigned 1903–1914) or Pope Paul VI (reigned 1963–1978). full ceremonial detailed above has not been used since early in the pontificate of Pope Paul VI, who abolished many of the offices of the papal court previously required for the celebration of the papal Mass. Soon after his coronation, Paul VI ceased using the papal tiara. He discontinued the use of many traditional features of papal dress, including the papal slippers and pontifical gloves. However, he did carry a distinctive form of papal ferula, silver in colour, which Pope John Paul II also used. Pope Benedict XVI carried a golden ferula with a central image of the Lamb of God and without a figure of Christ crucified. On certain occasions, Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI wore the fanon while celebrating Mass. The custom of having the Gospel chanted in Greek by a Greek Catholic deacon on certain occasions is practiced on occasion, most notably during canonisations. Latin is used for most papal Masses in Rome, but the local vernacular has been used with increasing frequency in recent decades, especially when the pope is abroad. However, in the last years of his pontificate Pope Benedict XVI always used Latin for the Eucharistic Prayer when celebrating Mass abroad. Under Pope Francis several Papal Masses in Saint Peter's Square have used the Italian language. On Palm Sunday 2014, Latin was only used for the readings and some of the responses, while the next year's Palm Sunday service was for the first time said entirely in Italian. In the earlier papal Mass, only the pope, the deacon, and the subdeacon received Holy Communion. In modern papal Masses many receive, some from the pope himself. It has become common for the pope to celebrate Mass in stadiums or sports arenas abroad, so as to accommodate a larger number of pilgrims. It is also current practice to celebrate some Masses in Saint Peter's Square. However, much more often, papal Masses in Vatican City take place inside Saint Peter's Basilica. These Masses, with participants from many lands, point to the universality of the Roman Catholic faith. The intentions of the Universal Prayer are spoken in a variety of vernacular languages, while the invocation sung in Latin. The Midnight Mass at Christmas normally takes place inside Saint Peter's Basilica and is telecast worldwide. After the end of the Second Vatican Council, several of the particular ceremonies and vestments used in papal Masses were gradually discontinued. Pope Benedict XVI revived some of these traditions. One example was the playing of the Papal Anthem on brass instruments from the loggia of the interior of Saint Peter's Basilica to announce the arrival of the Pope, followed by the chanting of "Tu Es Petrus" by the Sistine Chapel Choir when appropriate. On December 31, 2020, Pope Francis missed the traditional New Year's Eve papal mass due to sciatic pain.[4][5] This traditional mass includes the Vespers and the Te Deum chant.[5] This also prevented him from holding the traditional New Year's Day papal mass