Pope Francis makes surprise appearance, 2 weeks after leaving hospital
The Brief
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.
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."
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."
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."
After the Mass, the Pope also greeted some of those who assisted in the service, many who bowed to kiss his hands.
What's next
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.
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