Pope Francis appearance 2025 brings relief as he returns to St. Peter’s Square weeks after battling double pneumonia.
The 88-year-old pontiff, wearing an oxygen tube and seated in a wheelchair, waved to the gathered faithful and offered a soft but heartfelt message:
“Happy Sunday to everyone. Thank you so much.”
The appearance marked his first public blessing since February 9, when worsening health forced him to cancel all public events. He went to the hospital on February 14 with bronchitis, which escalated to life-threatening pneumonia, kidney issues, and a serious infection.
Pope Francis Defies Doctors’ Orders to Greet the Faithful
Doctors had recommended the Pope avoid public engagements for at least two months, but the pontiff defied those instructions to offer hope and gratitude to the global Catholic community.
Francis, who had part of his lung removed in his youth, is particularly vulnerable to respiratory infections. His condition had become so critical that doctors considered ending treatment at one point.
Still, on a bright Sunday morning in Vatican City, Pope Francis smiled, spoke briefly, and lifted the spirits of thousands watching in the Square and around the world.
A Word of Recovery, Faith, and Patience
“In this long period of hospitalization, I have had the opportunity to experience the patience of the Lord… and the devotion and hopes of the families of the sick,” Francis said in a statement upon his release from the hospital on March 23.
The first pope from the Americas, Pope Francis, was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina and was elected in March 2013. He remains a symbol of kindness, fortitude, and spiritual resiliency in spite of his advanced age and disease.
Source: USA Today
