Pope Francis will greet and give his blessing on Sunday from a window of the Gemelli hospital From Rome, in its first public appearance since its hospitalization on February 14, the Vatican announced this Saturday, March 22.
“Pope Francis plans to greet and give a blessing from the Agostino Gemelli hospital in Rome In the end (of the weekly prayer) of the Angelus, That as in recent weeks it will be published in writing, “said the press office of the Holy See.
Francisco, 88, does not preside over the prayer of Angelus since February 9. Since then, The appointment has been missing five consecutive weeks, something unpublished since its election in March 2013.
The Angelus is normally pronounced every Sunday At noon in public by the Pope from a window of the Apostolic Palace that gives the Plaza San Pedro, where the faithful usually meet to see him and hear him.
At the gates of the Gemelli Hospital, several faithful received with joy The possibility of finally seeing Jorge Bergoglio.
“This news makes me very happy, I am very close to this Pope (…) so just seeing it is already beautiful, and I think it is also for all the faithful and all who love him, “said Paola Camicia, a official resident in Rome.
Ilka Carpio, another faithful of the Pope who was born in Venezuela and lives in Tuscany, described the announcement as “really fantastic news.” “I don’t see the time that the Pope can leave because we still need his words,” added.
The Pope has not been seen in public since February 14, And the Vatican has only published a photo of him since that date.
The announcement of its public reappearance on Sunday comes after the Vatican He has informed in recent days of improvements in the state of health of the Supreme Pontiff, After the pneumonia he suffered in both lungs, and that caused fears that his life was in danger.
The Vatican said in his last medical bulletin on Wednesday that Francisco’s pneumonia It has not “eliminated” but now it is “under control.”
New Diocese in Paraguay
As another sign of improvement, the Vatican announced that the Pope created the new diocese of Caazapá in Paraguay, and appointed Monsignor Marcelo Benítez Martínez as his first bishop.
The new diocese, announced by the Vatican while the Pope continues in the Gemelli Hospital in Rome, It was separated from that of Villarrica of the Holy Spirit.
His new bishop was until now Vicar for Paraguay of the province of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, The Holy See specified in a statement.
On February 26, when his condition was “critical”, the Pope He authorized from his hospital bed the canonization of the “doctor of the poor” José Gregorio Hernández, that will become the first saint of Venezuela, unleashing joy and hope among parishioners who have organized chains of prayers in the world for their speedy recovery.
Acts prior to Holy Week
It is not the first time that Francisco makes a public appearance from the Gemelli Hospital: On July 11, 2021, he prayed the prayer of the Angelus, before faithful and journalists, From the balcony of his apartment located on the tenth plant after a colon operation.
In June 2023, after an abdominal hernia operation, The Angelus recited at the Gemelli hospital in private, without looking out to the balcony.
Pope John Paul II also recited the Angelus from the Gemelli on several occasions during his 26 years of pontificate (1978-2005), both through audio recordings and with appearances on the balcony.
Pope’s disease and his long hospitalization They have raised doubts about who could direct the tight program of religious acts Prior to Holy Week, the most sacred moment of the Christian calendar.
The Vatican declared Wednesday that no decision has been made in this regard.
Francisco is prone to respiratory diseases and they removed part of a lung when he was young.
Despite his recent improvement, The Vatican has not indicated when he could receive hospital discharge.