NPR.org
September 2, 2019
Pope Francis delivers his blessing during the noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St.Peter’s Square on Sunday. Francis told the crowd that before his address, he had been stuck in an elevator for 25 minutes, causing him to be late. Alessandra Tarantino/AP
The pope was running late.
For seven excruciating minutes, thousands of gatherers on Sunday in St Peter’s Square in Vatican City were anxiously waiting for Pope Francis to show up for his weekly address, which usually starts, like clockwork, exactly at noon. Questions and worries that something may be seriously amiss made many onlookers fret.