Pope Francis made his first public appearance since he was discharged from the hospital two weeks ago, entering St. Peter's Square at the Vatican in a wheelchair as part of a Jubilee Mass for the Sick.
The pope , 88, passed through a jubilant crowd before he gave his blessing as the celebrant, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, offered a final blessing, as well.
"Have a good Sunday everyone," Francis said. "Thank you so much."
The Vatican released a text prepared by Francis shortly after Mass finished Sunday praying for “doctors, nurses and health workers, who are not always helped to work in adequate conditions and are sometimes even victims of aggression.”
“Their mission is not easy and must be supported and respected,” the statement read.
For the rest of the text, the pope addressed some of the world’s conflicts, as he has done in previous addresses.
He prayed for peace in Gaza, where “people are reduced to living in unimaginable conditions, without shelter, without food, without clean water,” as well as “tormented Ukraine.”
“Let us pray for peace throughout the Middle East; in Sudan and South Sudan; in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; in Myanmar, hard hit by the earthquake; and in Haiti, where violence rages, and two religious sisters were killed a few days ago,” the text read.
The pope had been out of public view since March 23, when he gave a short greeting and blessing from his balcony at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, after more than five weeks of treatment for pneumonia in both lungs, the most serious health crisis of his 12-year tenure. According to his doctors, his life was in danger twice during that period.
After Francis' brief appearance in March, the head of his medical team said he would require a further two months of rest once he returns to the Vatican, and his doctors said it would take “a lot of time” for his aging body to fully heal.
Throughout his illness, the Vatican maintained that Francis continued to fulfill his duties despite staying out of the public eye.
Notably, he missed the Catholic Church’s jubilee celebration, a significant tradition held every 50 years for the remission of sins, known as the Holy Year.
But during his hospitalization, Francis continued his practice of near-nightly calls to the Catholic parish in Gaza as Israel's war against Hamas rages on in the Middle East.
Despite his ongoing health struggles, there has been no indication from the Vatican that the pope intends to resign.
