Pope Francis was late to his weekly Sunday appearance after being stuck in an elevator for nearly half an hour.

“I need to apologize for being late,” he told the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square, according to translated comments. “I was stuck in an elevator for 25 minutes.”

The pontiff blamed a power problem.

“Thank God the fire brigade came,” he said, then called for a round of applause for his rescuers.

CBS News reported that the pope was about 7 minutes late for the Angelus, traditionally delivered from the window of the papal apartment.