Pope Francis appeared in front of thousands of faithful Catholics in the Plaza de San Pedro on Sunday, April 20 for Easter, despite the fragile health of the 88 -year -old pontiff who has kept him from most of the events of Holy Week.
“Happy Easter,” said the Argentine pontiff in a weak voice from his wheelchair on the balcony of the Basilica of San Pedro, to delight tens of thousands of faithful and others in the square full of flowers.
The Pope traditionally delivers his “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the city and the world”) blessing of the balcony that dominates the Plaza de San Pedro, but cools to that task for a collaborator on Sunday. His direction, read, condemned the “worrying” anti -Semitism and the “deplorable” situation in Gaza.
Given his delicate health after the treatment for pneumonia, he had no insurance if the leader of the 1,400 million Catholics in the world would be present, or in fact, in what capacity. In the end, the Pope made his appearance.
Just before, he had a private letter with the Vice President of the United States. Uu. JD Vance, who was visiting Rome with his family. “The meeting, which lasted a few minutes, cools the opportunity to exchange greetings on Easter Sunday,” the Vatican wrote in a letter statement, saying the meeting place in the Pope’s residence shortly before 11:30 local time.
Its meeting occurred months after a splatter between Francis and the administration of US President Donald Trump about his antimigrant policies.
A crowd or 35,000
The press service of the Holy See had not confirmed if the Pope would participate in Sunday’s Easter celebrations, insisting that it depends on health. That did not stop what the Vatican said that it was a multitude of about 35,000 people when meeting on Sunday under nebulous skies in the square decorated with tulips and other spring flowers in the front or basilica of St. Peter, in the hope of sighting the Jesuit Pope.
Francis was discharged from the hospital on March 23, after five weeks of treatment for pneumonia, of which Heyly died. His voice is still weak, despite the improvements in his breathing. In the last week, Francis has appeared in public twice without the nasal cannula through which he has oxygen that receives bones.
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For the first time since it became Pope in 2013, Francis has lost most of the events of Holy Week, such as Friday’s cross stations at the Colosseum and Easter vigil on Saturday in the Basilica of Saint Peter, where he delegated his duties to the cardinals. However, he made an appearance in a letter inside the Basilica on Saturday, where he prayed and great sweets to some children among visitors.
Francis made an official commitment this Holy Week, visiting a prison in Rome. But he did not perform the traditional feet washing ritual, which seeks to imitate the washing of Jesus Christ of his disciples. Asked by a journalist after his visit what he felt about this Easter Week in his current condition, the Pope replied: “I am living the best I can.”
This year’s Easter is unusual since the same weekend falls in the Catholic and Protestant branches of Christianity, which follow the Gregorian calendar and the Orthodox branch, which the Julian calendar uses.
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