Vatican City (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – On Sunday, Pope Francis briefly visited St. Peter’s Square after a Palm Sunday service, greeting the crowd from his wheelchair while recovering from double pneumonia.
“Wishing you a joyful Palm Sunday and Holy Week,” the pope remarked as he made his way back into the Vatican, pausing briefly to engage with the faithful, including a group of cheerful nuns.
How serious was Pope Francis’s health scare?
In contrast to last Sunday, when he made his first public appearance following his hospital discharge three weeks ago, the pope was not using oxygen through a small tube under his nose. He left the hospital on March 23 after a five-week treatment for a lung infection that, according to his doctor, had nearly resulted in his death.
How serious was Pope Francis’s health scare?
At one point in his 38-day battle with pneumonia, Pope Francis came very close to death. His medical team even contemplated ending treatment to allow him to pass away peacefully. Dr. Sergio Alfieri, head of the pope’s medical team, reported that after a choking incident on February 28, where Francis nearly suffocated on his vomit, “there was a genuine risk he could die.”
His medical team has advised him to rest for two months, and initially, the pope stayed out of sight after returning home. However, in a sign of possible improvement, he made four unannounced appearances this past week and also had a brief meeting with King Charles and Queen Camilla of Britain.
Will Pope Francis join Holy Week celebrations?
The Catholic Church begins its most active week of the year on Sunday as it approaches Easter. However, Pope Francis is currently out of the public eye following his recovery from double pneumonia, leaving his participation in the upcoming celebrations uncertain.
The 88-year-old pontiff has been recommended two months of rest by doctors to aid his healing process. As a result, he may spend most or all of Holy Week – when Christians commemorate Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection – away from the public eye.
