Pope Francis greeted the crowd at St. Peter’s Square during a special Jubilee Mass for the sick on Sunday, marking his first appearance at the Vatican since his release from the hospital two weeks ago.
The 88-year-old pontiff lifted his hands to wave to the crowd, who stood and applauded, as he was rolled to the front of the altar in the square.
“Good Sunday to everyone,” Francis told the crowd. “Thank you very much.”
The pope’s voice sounded stronger than when he addressed well-wishers outside of Gemelli hospital on his release on March 23.
The pope referred to his experience with illness in both the traditional Sunday blessing and the homily read by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, organizer of the Holy Year that is expected to bring some 30 million pilgrims to Rome.
Addressing the sick among the crowd, the pope said in the homily read by Fisichella that “In this moment of my life I share a lot: the experience of infirmity, feeling weak, depending on the others for many things, needing support.”
“It is not easy, but it is a school in which we learn every day to love and to let ourselves be loved, without demanding and without rejecting, without regretting, without despairing, grateful to God and to our brothers for the good that we receive, trusting for what is still to come.”
He also urged the faithful not to push the fragile from their lives “as unfortunately a certain mentality does today. Let’s not ostracize pain from our surroundings. Let’s instead make it an opportunity to grow together, to cultivate hope.”
The leader of the Catholic Church, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, was admitted to the hospital on Feb. 14 after a bout of bronchitis made it difficult for him to speak. Doctors at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome soon diagnosed Francis with double pneumonia.
After a five-week stay, which was marked by two medical episodes that threatened his life, Francis was released from the hospital and began at least two months of rest and recovery at the Vatican.
Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the head of Francis’ medical team, told the Corriere della Sera newspaper that the pope came close to dying twice and that the medical team even considered letting him die at one critical point. That occurred on Feb. 28, which Alfieri described as “the worst” day of the pope’s 38-day hospitalization.
“We needed to choose whether to stop and let him go, or to push it and try all the drugs and treatments possible, running the very high risk of damaging other organs. In the end, that is the path we chose,” Alfieri said.
It was Francis himself who chose to persevere, said the doctor.
Alfieri said he believed the fact that prayer services were being held around the world for Francis contributed to his survival.
“There is a scientific publication according to which prayers give strength to the sick,” the doctor said. “I can say that twice the situation was lost, and then it happened like a miracle.”
contributed to this report.
