Recovering Pope surprises crowd at Vatican square

VATICAN City: Pope Francis made a surprise public appearance on Sunday as he mingled with crowds at the Vatican just two weeks after leaving hospital for a serious case of pneumonia. “A good Sunday to all.

Thank you very much,” the 88-year old pope said as he was pushed through Saint Peter´s Square in his wheelchair after a mass dedicated to the sick. Surrounded by a mass of smartphones and cameras, and attached to nasal breathing tubes, his voice was fragile but more audible than in his last public appearance on March 23, when Francis greeted crowds before leaving the Gemelli hospital.

Before that, the Argentine had not been seen since February 14. Francis is, in theory, undergoing two months of convalescence following his life-threatening health scare, with strict rest, no public activity and no contact with crowds ordered. Yet the Jesuit spent Sunday morning blessing the masses gathered on the sunny square, in an encouraging signal for his health two weeks before Christians the world over will celebrate Easter.

“I was very overwhelmed to see the holy father because I did not think that his state of health would allow him to greet us,” Italian doctor Dora Moncada told AFPTV, admitting to have “cried out of emotion”.

His eagerness to reach out to the flock, however, comes against the advice of his doctors, who have urged him to avoid meeting groups of people to limit the risk of infection. “He´s doing better, that´s clear, and he wants that to be seen,” a Vatican source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“He´s not yet well enough to deliver a message, but well enough to make a gesture... and show up,” the source added. According to his doctors, Francis almost died twice during his time in hospital, the longest and most fraught in his 12 years as head of the Church. His physical state has sparked speculation that the pontiff might hang up his papal crook after the example of his predecessor Benedict XVI, who quit in 2013 citing his declining mental and physical health.

A few minutes before his surprise appearance, the leader of the globe´s 1.4 billion Catholics received the sacrament in St Peter´s Cathedral, the Vatican said in a statement on Telegram. “We were not expecting him, until for myself I saw it on the screen — I couldn´t believe it,” said Janet Muchengwa, a nurse who came from the United Kingdom.

As in previous weeks, Francis did not read out the customary Angelus prayer, which was published in written form instead. “I pray for the doctors, the nurses and the healthcare workers, who are not always helped to work in adequate conditions and who are even, sometimes, victims of attacks,” the pontiff wrote.