Pope Francis waves as he leaves the Gemelli hospital after a five weeks hospitalization for pneumonia, in Rome on March 23, 2025. Pope Francis is to leave hospital todayand return to his residence in the Vatican, where he is to spend "at least two mo …
NEW YORK - Pope Francis appeared unexpectedly at St. Peter’s Square on Sunday for the Jubilee Mass for patients and health workers—just two weeks after a serious bout of pneumonia.
Wearing nasal oxygen tubes and his signature white cloak, Pope Francis waved to the crowd as he was wheeled to the front of the altar.
"Good Sunday to everyone,’’ Francis said, "Thank you very much."
ROME, ITALY - MARCH 23: (EDITOR NOTE: STRICTLY EDITORIAL USE ONLY - NO MERCHANDISING). Pope Francis greets and blesses the faithful from a balcony of the Gemelli Hospital on March 23, 2025 in Rome, Italy. The 88-year-old pontiff was admitted to the …
As he waved and blessed the crowd, his arm movements were reportedly limited — which his doctor said was not related to his illness but to an unspecified trauma suffered before his Feb. 14 hospitalization.
In a homily read by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the pope told the sick in the crowd that he relates to their struggles, saying, "In this moment of my life I share a lot: the experience of infirmity, feeling weak, depending on others for many things, needing support."
Pope Francis waves from a window of the Gemelli hospital before being discharged following a five weeks hospitalization for pneumonia, in Rome on March 23, 2025. Pope Francis is to leave hospital todayand return to his residence in the Vatican, where …
After the Mass, the Pope also greeted some of those who assisted in the service, many who bowed to kiss his hands.
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Francis has just completed the first two weeks of a doctor-ordered, two-month rest period, during which he’s undergoing physical, respiratory, and speech therapy, along with treatment for a lingering lung infection.
Linda Elezi, from the Adriatic coastal province of Ancona, said she was touched by the pope’s "surprise.’'
"We pray for him every day, and he prays for us, and for peace and for all the world, because that is the message of our pilgrimage today: Bring peace to all the world,’' she said.