The Vatican on Sunday released the first photograph of Pope Francis since his hospitalization. Doctors admitted the 88-year-old pontiff more than a month ago for pneumonia in both lungs.
The photo shows the pope, bare-headed, seated in a wheelchair. He wears a white robe and purple shawl and sits in front of a simple altar with a crucifix on the wall.
The photographer took the picture from behind Francis’ right side. His face is not fully visible, but his eyes are open as he looks in a downward direction.
“This morning Pope Francis concelebrated the Holy Mass in the chapel of the apartment on the tenth floor of the Gemelli Polyclinic,” the Vatican press office wrote in the photograph’s caption. Concelebration is the joint celebration of mass by senior clerics.
A Significant Release
The Vatican’s release of the photo was significant. The Argentine pontiff has not appeared in public since he entered Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14 for pneumonia. For weeks, doctors considered it critical.
He has improved steadily in the past week, however. In a medical bulletin Saturday, the Vatican said his condition continued to be stable. However, he still required therapy from the hospital.
Earlier Sunday, the Vatican published an Angelus message to the faithful. In it, the pope addressed his health. He shared that he was “fragile” and “facing a period of trial.”
