Pope Francis made a surprise entrance on Sunday to St. Peter’s Square during a special jubilee mass dedicated to the sick and healthcare workers, marking his first public appearance in the Vatican since his discharge from the hospital two weeks ago.
The pontiff raised his hands to greet the crowd, who stood up and applauded as he was unexpectedly led to the front of the altar in the square.
“Happy Sunday to everyone,” said Francisco, speaking into a microphone, which he tapped to make sure it was working on the second try. “Thank you very much.”
The pontiff’s voice sounded louder than when he addressed supporters outside Gemelli Hospital on the day of his discharge on March 23, after battling pneumonia that endangered his life during a five-week hospital stay. He has just completed two weeks of at least two months of rest ordered by doctors while continuing with physical, respiratory, and speech therapy, as well as treatment for a persistent lung infection.
The pope referred to his experience with the illness both in the traditional Sunday blessing and in the homily read by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, organizer of the Holy Year expected to bring around 30 million pilgrims to Rome.
Addressing the sick among the crowd, the pope said in the homily read by Fisichella that “at this moment in my life, I share a lot: the experience of illness, of feeling weak, of depending on others for many things, of needing support.”
“It is not always easy, but it is a school where we learn every day to love and to let ourselves be loved, without pretending or rejecting, without lamenting or despairing, grateful to God and to our brothers and sisters for the good we receive, abandoned and trusting in what is yet to come,” he added.
He also urged the faithful not to push away the fragile from their lives. “Let us not relegate the fragile ones, keeping them away from our lives, as unfortunately we sometimes see a certain type of mentality do today. Let us not remove pain from our surroundings. Rather, let us make it an opportunity to grow together, to cultivate hope through the love that God has poured out,” he said.
In the traditional Sunday blessing, he prayed for doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers “who do not always have help to work in inadequate conditions, sometimes victims of aggression. Their mission is not easy and must be supported and respected.”