Pope Francis blesses faithful at Easter Mass
- The San Juan Daily Star
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
By Elisabetta Povoledo
Pope Francis on Sunday blessed tens of thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square for Easter Mass, his weak, raspy voice a reminder of his frailty less than a month after being discharged from a lengthy hospital stay for life-threatening pneumonia.
A roar erupted from the crowd in the square when the pope appeared in a wheelchair on a balcony at St. Peter’s Basilica and raised a hand in greeting.
“Dear brothers and sisters, happy Easter,” the pope said. Then he waited as Archbishop Diego Ravelli, a Vatican aide delivered the “Urbi et Orbi,” a papal address delivered at Easter and Christmas.
After the address, Francis blessed those present, then waved. The crowds gathered in the square cheered, and called out, “Viva il papa,” or “Long live the pope.”
Before his appearance, the pope met “for a few minutes” with Vice President JD Vance, who was spending the Easter weekend in Rome, according to the Vatican.
When Francis was discharged from the hospital on March 23, his doctors advised him to take it easy for at least two months as he convalesced — and to steer clear of crowds and situations where he could be exposed to germs. His doctor said Francis had almost died in the hospital, where he spent five weeks being treated for pneumonia and other complications.
But Francis’ appearance Sunday was a sign that the 88-year-old pontiff wanted to be with the faithful on the most important day of the Christian calendar.
“It’s important to him to be present during the Easter liturgies and celebrations,” said Austen Ivereigh, a Catholic commentator and papal biographer. “He’s not going to be a hermit because you can’t have a pope who’s a hermit, at least in his understanding of the papacy.”
Francis, he added, was now finding the right balance between two, at times contrasting, demands: Being “a pope present to the people and listening to the advice of his doctors who have worked so hard to keep him alive.”
The Vatican had said Saturday that Francis wanted very much to be present for the “Urbi et Orbi,” or “To the City and the World,” that he wrote. The message lists the global concerns of the Vatican.
On Sunday, as read out by Ravelli, it focused on the many conflicts taking place around the world and was interrupted several times by applause.
“What a great thirst for death, for killing, we witness each day in the many conflicts raging in different parts of our world! How much violence we see,” Francis wrote.
He appealed to world leaders “not to yield to the logic of fear which only leads to isolation from others, but rather to use the resources available to help the needy, to fight hunger and to encourage initiatives that promote development.” He added, “These are the ‘weapons’ of peace: weapons that build the future, instead of sowing seeds of death.”
Francis also wrote that “the growing climate of antisemitism throughout the world is worrisome.” At the same time, he added, “I think of the people of Gaza, and its Christian community in particular, where the terrible conflict continues to cause death and destruction and to create a dramatic and deplorable humanitarian situation.”
“Call a ceasefire,” he wrote.
Francis’ illness and convalescence slowed what had been a grueling schedule that included multiple audiences each day. But his attendance for the “Urbi et Orbi” on Sunday, and other recent public appearances, suggest he is ready to start stepping up his activities.
Sergio Alfieri, the doctor who heads Francis’ medical team at the Gemelli hospital in Rome, said last week that the pontiff “hasn’t fully healed yet,” but that his daily physical therapy was showing results.
On Saturday, the pope made an unscheduled visit to St. Peter’s Basilica, where he prayed in front of the main altar in his wheelchair. Earlier this month, Francis visited the basilica dressed in street clothes. He has also been gradually increasing his meetings with Vatican officials, and recently met briefly with King Charles and Queen Camilla of Britain.
Last week he greeted staff from the Gemelli hospital and the Vatican medical service, to thank them for nursing him back to health. And on Thursday, Francis went to Regina Coeli, a prison near the Vatican, where he met with — and was cheered by — some 70 inmates.
Asked by reporters at the prison how he was doing during this year’s Easter season, he said in a weak voice, “As best I can.” The Vatican released a photograph of Francis, blowing kisses to the inmates, after the visit.
However, Francis did not attend celebrations for Good Friday.
Francis “understands when he can do something and when he can’t, he listens to the advice of his nurses and doctors,” said Fabio Marchese Ragona, another biographer. In the past, bouts of influenza or bronchitis have also forced Francis to miss various celebrations.
At the same time, it was part of “his DNA to be with people,” Marchese Ragona said. “He’s trying to do what he can to return to normality,” he added.
This year marks a Jubilee that takes place every 25 years, with millions of pilgrims visiting Rome. It is still unclear how many of those events Francis will participate in.
The pope’s desire to be present at major events has “to be tempered with the careful recovery of his strength,” said Carlo Musso, who worked with Francis on “Hope,” a recent autobiography. But “the desire to carry forward his Jubilee commitments is on his mind, and it is both a strong stimulus and preoccupation” for Francis, he said.
After the Mass on Sunday, Francis rode through St. Peter’s Square in an open car. People cheered, applauded and called out his name as he drove by.
Joyce Temple, a retired schoolteacher from Roswell, Georgia, was among the thousands of people packing the square.
“There is so much gratitude in my heart to witness this,” she said. “I do not take this for granted.”