Shortly before the Pope appeared, the text of Angelus had been released, the prayer he usually does on Sundays
Michele Oliveira
Pope Francis appeared on Sunday (23) to the public for the first time since he was admitted to the Agostino Gemelli Hospital in Rome 37 days ago. At about 12 noon (8am from Brasilia), he went to a porch on the fifth floor of the structure.
In the wheelchair, he nodded to the faithful clusters under the window and, in the microphone, thanked. “Thanks to everyone. I see a lady with the yellow flowers. Good!” He said, panting, but without interruption. Then he signaled the cross with his hand and began to cough. The appearance lasted just over a minute.
The Pontiff left the hospital shortly thereafter, as announced by the medical team on Saturday (22). Then his car entourage went to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maior, where the Pope usually pass after travel. This is where he asked to be buried.
Shortly before the Pope appeared, the text of Angelus had been released, the prayer he usually gives on Sundays from the Apostolic Palace window, to the faithful gathered in São Pedro Square. It was the sixth Sunday that Angelus was announced in writing.
“In this long period of hospitalization, I had the opportunity to experience the patience of the Lord, which I also see in the tireless concern of doctors and health professionals, as well as in the attention and hope of the families of the sick,” the Pope said in the text.
As she usually did, she commented in progress and lamented the resumption of Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip. “I ask you to silence your weapons immediately and to have the courage to resume dialogue, so that all hostages are released and reaching a definitive ceasefire. In the track, the humanitarian situation is once again very serious and requires the urgent commitment of the parties in conflict and the international community.”
Only authority to visit him at the hospital, in the first week of hospitalization, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni celebrated the Pope’s discharge. “I am happy to know that the Pope is returning to the Vatican. He goes a special thought and the best votes, with love and gratitude for his tireless commitment and precious guidance,” the Italian published in X.
Since the early hours of this morning, people began to cluster at the hospital entrance, under the balcony, around the statue of Pope John Paul 2nd, killed in 2005, which was hospitalized several times there. For weeks, faithful left candles, flowers, rosaries and other objects in honor of Francisco, as well as praying for their recovery.
At 88, the pontiff is cured of bilateral pneumonia and has surpassed at least four severe respiratory crises. According to the medical team, in two of these moments he was in danger of dying.
Treatment to completely eliminate polymyicrobial infection will continue at Casa Santa Marta, his official residence at the Vatican, where the Pope should be in convalescence for at least two more months, and undergoing motor and respiratory rehabilitation.
In the period, doctors recommend that he does not find large groups or strive too much. It is still uncertain how he will participate, in four weeks, in Easter celebrations, the most important moment of the calendar for Christianity.
The discharge was decided by the doctors after the stability of their clinical picture was found in the previous two weeks. In recent days, the use of artificial oxygen has been decreased through noninvasive mechanical ventilation and nasal catheter. The Pope was never intubated, the doctors said.
Even hospitalized, according to the Vatican, the Pope partially kept his work, dispatching documents and appointments with close collaborators, such as Cardinal Pietro Parolin. However, he had to decline to participate in celebrations linked to the Church’s jubilee, which occurs every 25 years, and ceases to recite Angelus.
On Sunday the 16th had been released the first photo of the pontiff since entering the hospital. He appeared almost on his back, looking at the altar of the chapel that is part of his suite on the tenth floor, and with his right hand swollen due to lack of mobility.
Ten days earlier, the first demonstration had occurred without being in writing. On the night of the 6th, the Vatican released an audio recorded by the Pope in which he thanked the faithful of São Pedro Square for his prayers. The panting voice confirmed the fragility of his health.
Francisco was hospitalized on February 14 to treat symptoms of a bronchitis. Performed the first exams, received the diagnosis of polymicrobial infection on the airways caused by fungi, bacteria and viruses. Then a tomography revealed that the Pope also suffered from pneumonia on both lungs. In addition to age, the condition was considered complex by doctors due to chronic respiratory diseases and restricted mobility.
