Pope Francis has reappeared in public this Sunday, in the Plaza de San Pedro, with a pneumonia and just over 10 days of convalescence in the residence of priests in which he lives in the Vatican. The 88 -year -old Pontiff has traveled the square, at the end of the Mass that Monsignor Rino Fisichella had celebrated, and has greeted the faithful and grateful their presence. Even with obvious movement difficulties, he has greeted his hand and smiled at those present.
In a homily read in his name, Francisco has asked not to separate the disease from society. “To face together the suffering makes us more humans,” he said in the Mass of the Sick’s Jubilee. “Dear of sick brothers and sisters, at this time in my life I share a lot with you: the experience of the disease, to feel weak, to depend on others for many things, to have the need for support,” the pontiff confessed in the text. He added: “It is not always easy, but it is a school in which we learn every day to love and to love, without pretending and without rejecting, without regretting and without despair, grateful to God and the brothers for the good we receive, abandoned and confident in what is yet to come.” The homily was read in his name by Archbishop Rino Fisichella during a mass that congregated in the Plaza de San Pedro about 20,000 people.
Francisco left the hospital where he spent more than a month admitted on March 23, but has not yet received the medical discharge and continues the convalescence and treatment in his residence, the Santa Marta del Vatican house. Bergoglio broke the traditional rule of the previous pontiffs, who lived in the luxurious Apostolic Palace and transferred his residence to this that is also within the walls of the small state, much more modest and busy. He has more than 100 rooms, who occupy cardinals, bishops and priests during his stays in Rome. A long time ago it was an assistance house for patients.
The doctors who treated Francisco at the hospital and who continue to attend him have admitted that, in the most critical phase of the disease, the Pontiff faced “two episodes in which his life was in danger” and that he must now continue his recovery, with rest, therapy and rehabilitation, for at least two months.
One of the sequelae of bilateral pneumonia suffered by the pontiff is voice loss, a habitual consequence, according to doctors, in this type of anesty and that is reversible. The toilets are confident that Francisco can recover the speech “in a short time.”
The Holy See press office reported this week that the Pope had improved slightly since he left the hospital. Doctors have reduced the use of oxygen slightly and progressively during the day, while keeping it throughout the night. The pontiff, who according to the Vatican has “good humor”, is eating solids normally and spends the days alternating treatment and rest with the moments of work. Pharmacological therapy and motor and respiratory physiotherapy are part of the treatment prescribed by doctors. At this stage there has been a “mild and gradual” improvement, especially in regard to the mobility of the Pope, which before suffering the pneumonia already moved in a wheelchair due to problems on his knees. The Vatican has also assured that the Pope dedicates some parts of the day to work and “follows the activity of the curia and the events of the Church and receives documents to study and sign.”
Obstacles to recovery
The main obstacle in the cure of the pontiff is the recovery of respiratory capacity. For more than a month it has received respiratory support through mechanical ventilation and also high flow oxygen therapy with nasal cannulas, although it has remained conscious and collaborative throughout the process. The goal is to breathe autonomously again and speak normally to return to their public activities.
On March 23, before leaving the hospital to return to the Vatican, the Pontiff went to the balcony of his room to greet the faithful. It was the first time that he was seen in public since he entered on February 14 and despite the difficulties he showed as a movement and also to speak and breathe gave a blessing and said a few words, although he was not expected to speak, of gratitude to the people who during the entry had gathered in front of the medical center to pray for him.
Throughout convalescence, a lot of expectation has been created throughout the world about the health of the Pontiff. During his admission to the hospital, the Vatican, who at the beginning sent a daily medical part, spread on a single occasion, on March 16, an image of Francisco, in which he appeared on his back, while praying in the private chapel of the hospital, installed in the apartment reserved for the potatoes of this medical center of the Italian capital.
Before, on March 6, the Holy See disclosed an engraved message of the Pope that was broadcast in the Plaza de San Pedro during the prayer of the rosary that was done every day for the health of the Pontiff. The sound of the Pope’s voice, which spoke in Spanish, with a fragile and mourning tone, caused apprehension more than tranquility at that time.
The Pope’s reappearance this Sunday coincides with the celebration of the jubilee dedicated to the sick. This year is a holy year for the Catholic Church, which on these occasions grants indulgences or the forgiveness of sins for the faithful who do charity and cross some of the holy doors of Rome. The celebrations are organized in such a way that every weekend is dedicated to a particular topic.
The Holy See for the moment has not ruled on the possible presence of the Pope in the rites of Holy Week. The press office has indicated that “it is still premature to talk about it” and has assured that it will offer details later. It would not be the first time that the Pontiff does not direct this important celebration for Christians. In previous years, Francisco has also had to give up presiding over the masses and the different ceremonies of those days on medical recommendation due to respiratory infection. The majority of Easter celebrations are developed in the street or even at night, such as Crucis, with still too low temperatures for any person who is going through a convalescence.
