Pope Francis emerges from convalescence on Easter, delights crowd with popemobile tour

VATICAN CITY Pope Francis emerged from his convalescence on Easter Sunday to bless thousands of people in St Peter s Square and treat them to a surprise popemobile romp through the piazza drawing wild cheers and applause as he continues his recovery from a near-fatal bout of double pneumonia Viva il Papa Long live the pope Bravo the crowd shouted as Francis looped through the square in his open-topped popemobile and then up and down the main avenue leading to it He stopped occasionally to bless babies brought up to him a scene that was common in the past but unthinkable just a insufficient weeks ago as the -year-old pope fought for his life Brothers and sisters Happy Easter Francis reported his voice sounding stronger than it has since he was published from the hospital March after a five-week stay Francis didn t celebrate the Easter Mass in the piazza delegating it to Cardinal Angelo Comastri the retired archpriest of St Peter s Basilica But after the Mass ended Francis appeared on the loggia balcony over the basilica entrance for more than minutes and imparted the apostolic blessing in Latin The crowd of people below estimated by the Vatican to be more than erupted in cheers as a military band kicked off rounds of the Holy See anthem In all Francis was outside on a sunny spring day for around minutes with temperatures at degrees Celsius Fahrenheit in a piazza awash in daffodils tulips and other flowers donated by the Netherlands for Easter It is excellent a miracle explained Margarita Torres Hernandez a pilgrim from Mexico who was in the square Now that he has come out for me it s a miracle it s something very big very beautiful Pope met briefly with US Vice President Vance On his way to the basilica Francis met briefly in his hotel with U S Vice President JD Vance who was spending Easter in Rome with his family The Vatican noted the encounter lasted just a meager minutes and was designed to allow for an exchange of Easter greetings Francis for his part gave Vance three big chocolate Easter eggs to give to his three young children I know you have not been feeling great but it s good to see you in better wellbeing Vance recounted the pope Thank you for seeing me Francis is recuperating from a lengthy hospital stay Francis has only appeared in masses a handful of times since returning to the Vatican after a -day hospital stay He skipped the solemn services of Good Friday and Holy Saturday leading up to Easter but he had been expected to make an appearance on Sunday Doctors have prescribed two months of convalescence and respiratory therapy to improve his lung function after he came down with a life-threatening episode of double pneumonia He still seems to require great effort to project his voice and his breathing remains labored But his voice sounded stronger than it has to date in the insufficient words he uttered from the loggia It was a very touching moment for us to see the pope revealed Marcin Popowsky a pilgrim from Poland And we are very happy that we can see a pope in good shape Easter is a moment of satisfaction for Christians Related Articles Andreas Kluth The US has Greenland and foreign strategy exactly upside down Thomas Friedman Trapped in a woke right-wing ideology Mary Ellen Klas This Marco Rubio is unrecognizable Andreas Kluth US national shield is getting Loomered Kevin Waldman The dangerous consequences of radical empathy unchecked by reason Easter is the the greater part joyful moment on the Christian liturgical calendar when the faithful celebrate the resurrection of Christ after his crucifixion This year Easter is being celebrated on the same day by Catholics and Orthodox Christians and has been marked by Russia s broadcasted temporary Easter truce in its war in Ukraine Easter at the Vatican traditionally involves a Mass and the pope s Urbi et Orbi blessing Latin for to the city and the world a papal speech delivered from the loggia which is usually a roundup of global hotspots and human suffering In the speech read by Archbishop Diego Ravelli master of liturgical ceremonies Francis appealed for peace in Gaza and Ukraine as well as Congo and Myanmar and in other hotspots And he made a special appeal for settlers and those affected by violence How much contempt is stirred up at times toward the vulnerable the marginalized and refugees the message mentioned On this day I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others including those who are different than ourselves or who come from distant lands bringing unfamiliar customs approaches of life and ideas For all of us are children of God Before Sunday Francis biggest outing had been a visit to Rome s downtown prison to spend Holy Thursday with inmates The visit made clear his priorities as he slowly recovers to spend time with the people majority of on the margins