The Vatican publishes the first photo of Pope Francis in the hospital

After 29 days, without seeing Pope Francis, the press office of the Holy Chair published the first photo of Francis since the beginning of his hospital stay on February 14th. The photo was easily taken from behind in an angle. It showed the Pope, who wore an Alb and a violet stole – the liturgical color of Lent – the altar in the chapel of the Roman hospital, in which he was treated for double pneumonia.

“This morning, Pope Francis will check the Holy Mass in the chapel of the apartment on the tenth floor of the Gemelli Hospital,” said the communiqué on March 16 from the Holy press office. Before the photo, the Vatican had already released an inferior audio recording on March 6, in which the Pope thanked the believers who prayed the rosary for his recovery on St. Peter Platz.

Radiant signs of hope

The Pope continued to speak of Gemelli in writing and approved the sending of a letter to all bishops in the world in order to monitor the implementation of the conclusions of the synodality of synodality. He also gave the following message for his Sunday Angelus address: “I do a time of court procedure and combine with the many sick brothers and sisters: fragile, at that moment like me. Our body is weak, but nothing prevents us from loving, praying, giving ourselves and being for each other, in belief, bright signs of hope. “

On the day before the publication of this picture, the Vatican had not communicated about the Pope's health for the first time in a month. The Stuhl press office had informed journalists that Health bulletins who had been exhibited daily when Francis was the worst would be less common. No date was announced, but a possible hospital removal was mentioned on March 14 by the Vatican State Secretary Cardinal Pietro Parolin in the introduction to a fair celebrated with the diplomatic corps: “We gather this morning in prayer for the health of the holy father so that he can recover and soon return to us.”