Pope Francis appeared in public for the first time in weeks on Sunday, greeting crowds from a wheelchair in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.
Francis made his first public appearance since his hospital discharge on March 23, where he briefly addressed crowds. The pope had been hospitalized for five weeks due to a bout of double pneumonia.
Francis made the unannounced visit near the end of Mass and delivered a brief greeting, all while receiving oxygen via his nose.
“Happy Sunday to everyone,” Francis said. “Thank you so much.”
The Vatican also released a written message from Francis marking Sunday’s Mass, which was specially focused on healthcare workers.
“I ask the Lord that this touch of his love might reach all those who suffer and encourage those who are taking care of them,” said the text.
During his stay at Gemelli Hospital in Rome, doctors contemplated halting Francis’ treatment at one point due to his condition.
Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the medical director overseeing Francis’ care, described a challenging incident on Feb. 28 when the 88-year-old experienced a coughing fit and inhaled vomit. Medical staff had to clear his airways and later assist him in breathing by using a non-invasive mechanical ventilation mask.
Pope Francis appears in St. Peter’s Square for the first time in weeks. (Riccardo De Luca/Anadolu via Getty Image)
“For the first time I saw tears in the eyes of some of the people around him. People who, I understood during this period of hospitalization, sincerely love him, like a father. We were all aware that the situation had worsened further and there was a risk that he would not make it,” Alfieri told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
“We had to choose whether to stop and let him go or force it and try with all the drugs and therapies possible, running the very high risk of damaging other organs. And in the end we took this path,” he reportedly added.
Pope Francis waves to believers as he leaves the Cercle Cite after a meeting with Luxembourg’s prime minister during a four-day apostolic journey in Luxembourg and Belgium, in Luxembourg City, on Sept. 26, 2024. (Simon Wohlfahrt/AFP/Getty)
Alfieri said to the newspaper that Francis “delegated every type of healthcare decision to Massimiliano Strappetti, his personal healthcare assistant who knows the Pope’s wishes perfectly.”
“Try everything, we won’t give up,” Alfieri recalled Strappetti telling staff at the hospital. “That’s what we all thought, too. And no one gave up”.
