The recovery of Pope Francis surprises the pilgrims with a public apparition
While the entrances go, this was both unexpected and welcome. This was clear by the thunderous applause and applause on Sunday while Pope Francis made his first public appearance since he left a hospital in Rome two weeks ago.
Francis arrived, without notice, on the San Pietro platform towards the end of a mass that was part of a pilgrimage by health workers and their patients.
The Pope said very few words, his voice still tense after a hospital hospital stay for pneumonia and other problems that his doctors said Twice he brought him close to death.
“Happy Sunday to everyone, many thanks,” said Francis, shaking his hands. A nasal cannula was visible in both nostrils; Francis continues to rely on additional oxygen, said the Vatican.
Sitting in a wheelchair pushed by his trusted nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti, Francis moved through groups of pilgrims – including dozens of doctors and nurses around the world – who had come to the Vatican Sunday for this weekend Jubilee of the sick and health operators.
“What a wonderful surprise: the Pope still has health problems, but wanted to give a gift to the faithful,” said Lamberto Rosa, a businessman who volunteers with the Order of Malta in some Vatican events. “He has a combative spirit and wants to be present.”
Francis has made physical closeness to his flock, to dramatic gestures and a free -wheel style the distinctive features of his pontificate, and his appearance on Sunday suggested that he was determined to continue with that approach despite his physical limits.
Since he left the hospital in March, he has lived in his suite on the second floor of the Vatican pension that calls home. The Vatican Press Office repeatedly said that Francis did not receive visitors as he will convince himself, even if on Friday he reported that his speech was improving.
“It must have cost a lot to do it,” said Giuseppe Vanacore, president of Italy National Association for patients with kidney transplantationwhich was present in the square Sunday. Vanacore said he was moved by the homily that the Pope had written for the mass, which was read by Cardinal Rino Fisichella.
Before starting, Cardinal Fisichella had told those present that Francis, like many sick people, was watching putting on television.
In the homily, Francis wrote that he had “very common with you in this moment of my life, dear brothers and sisters who are sick: the experience of the disease, weakness, of having to depend on others in so many things and of needing their support”. That “is not always easy,” he wrote.
In its traditional Sunday blessing, made public after Mass, Francis wrote to pray “for doctors, nurses and health workers”, who often worked in difficult conditions. “Their mission is not easy and must be supported and respected,” he added, adding that he hoped that “the necessary resources will be invested in treatment and research, so that the health systems are inclusive and attentive to the most fragile and poorer”.
After the mass, the Vatican released a declaration in which he affirmed that Francis had asked and participated in the ritual to pass through the door of the Holy Basilica of San Pietro, like other pilgrims.
On Friday, in his twice weekly on the health of Francis, the Vatican said that the Pope “was dedicating a lot of time to motor and respiratory therapy”, showing improvements in both. He added that the additional oxygen flows that he required were becoming less intense and that the blood tests showed that the infections in its lungs were also improving.
People applauded and applauded while Francis moved from the crowd on Sunday. Some pumped the fists in encouragement, others agitated flags. “Long live the Pope”, they cheered.
“It was a great gesture – he showed his suffering,” said Massimiliano Porena, a nurse from the San Camillo hospital in Rome. He described the appearance as “an act of love” for healthcare professionals, “something we try to transmit to the patients we deal with”.
