Pope Francis made a surprise Sunday public appearance as he mingled with crowds at the Vatican just two weeks after leaving hospital for a serious case of pneumonia.
“A good Sunday to all. Thank you very much”, the 88-year old pope said as he was wheeled through Saint Peter’s Square in his wheelchair after a mass dedicated to the sick.
Surrounded by a mass of smartphones and cameras, and attached to nasal breathing tubes, his voice was fragile but more audible than when he left the Gemelli hospital on March 23. The Argentine’s last public appearance was on February 14.
Francis is, in theory, undergoing two months of convalescence following his life-threatening health scare, with strict rest, no public activity and no contact with crowds.
Yet the Jesuit spent Sunday morning blessing the masses gathered on the sunny square, in an encouraging signal for his health two weeks before Christians the world over celebrate Easter.
His eagerness to reach out to the flock however comes against the advice of his doctors, who have urged him to avoid meeting groups of people to limit the risk of infection.
“He’s doing better, that’s clear, and he wants that to be seen,” a Vatican source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“He’s not yet well enough to deliver a message, but well enough to make a gesture… and show up,” the source added.
According to his doctors Francis almost died twice suring his time in hospital, the longest and most fraught of his 12 years as head of the Church.
His physical state has sparked speculation the pontiff might hang up his papal crook after the example of his predecessor Benedict XVI, who quit in 2013 citing his declining mental and physical health.
A few minutes before his surprise appearance the leader of the globe’s 1.4 billion Catholics received the sacrament in St Peter’s Cathedral, the Vatican said in a statement on Telegram.
As in previous weeks Francis did not read out the customary Angelus prayer, which was published in written form instead.
“I pray for the doctors, the nurses and the healthcare workers, who are not always helped to work in adequate conditions and who are even, sometimes, victims of attacks,” the pontiff wrote.
“Their mission is not easy and must be supported and respected.”
His message went on to offer a prayer for an end to the world’s conflicts, mentioning in turn Ukraine, Sudan, neighbouring South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, quake-hit Myanmar and Haiti.
