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Pope Francis offered a brief but emotional greeting to more than 20,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Palm Sunday, marking the beginning of Holy Week with a public appearance as he continues to recover from a life-threatening case of double pneumonia, The Associated Press reported.
Seated in a wheelchair and without the nasal oxygen tubes seen in previous appearances, the 88-year-old was brought down a ramp to the main altar, the report said. There, he addressed the crowd with a warm message: “Good Palm Sunday, a good Holy Week.”
Many in the crowd reached out to touch his hand, expressing joy and relief at seeing the pontiff in person again. On his way back to the basilica, Pope Francis paused to bless a rosary and even handed candy to a young boy who greeted him.
This marked his second consecutive appearance in St. Peter’s Square, a follow-up to last Sunday’s surprise presence that delighted worshippers. It comes as he enters his fourth week of healing, with doctors continuing to advise him of maintaining limited contact with crowds.
“At this time of physical weakness, they help me to feel God’s closeness, compassion and tenderness even more,” AP quoted the Pope as saying in his traditional Sunday blessing, which was delivered as a prepared text.
In a prepared Palm Sunday homily read by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Pope Francis reportedly urged the faithful to carry the cross “of those who suffer around us” as they enter into the solemn observances of Holy Week.
Cardinal Sandri, the vice dean of the College of Cardinals, led the Mass and the traditional procession around the square’s central obelisk, carrying a braided palm in remembrance of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the report further said.
According to the report, the Pope’s Palm Sunday schedule also included a private visit to St. Mary Major Basilica on Saturday, where he prayed before the icon Salus Populi Romani. The basilica was also his first stop after being discharged from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on March 23.
In his Sunday message, Francis also extended prayers for suffering populations around the globe. He remembered Sudan, “which marks its second anniversary” of conflict this week, and Lebanon, where civil war began 50 years ago. He also prayed for peace in Ukraine, the Middle East, Congo, Myanmar, and South Sudan.
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