The Vatican’s press office released a photo of Pope Francis on Sunday after celebrating Mass, taken from an angle that mostly obscures his face and shows him sitting in a wheelchair.
The top leader of the Catholic Church, 88, has been hospitalized since February 14 as a result of a respiratory condition that led to pneumonia and, for much of early March, reports that the pope was facing a delicate medical situation. The Vatican has more recently reported that the pope’s situation is stable and that he continues to write and administer the Church from the hospital, though he has not reportedly recovered enough to leave the hospital.
The pope’s condition reportedly began as a microbial infection that became “bronchiectasis and asthmatic bronchitis,” requiring antibiotics and several tests. His condition has required close monitoring in part due to a history of respiratory conditions, including losing part of his right lung during a surgery, again as a result of a severe lung infection, in 1957.
Vatican News, part of the country’s press apparatus, reported on Sunday that Pope Francis has maintained a “stable” medical condition throughout the past week and is dedicating much of his days to respiratory and physiotherapy to strengthen his breathing following the pneumonia. The image itself offers very little information regarding Pope Francis’s condition but is the first image of the pontiff released in over a month.
Since his hospitalization, Vatican News observed, “nobody apart from the doctors treating him and his closest collaborators had been able to see the Pope.” Pope Francis has been continuously publishing messages to the Catholic faithful, however, including an audio message published on March 6 in which he sounded exceptionally frail.
“I thank you with all my heart for the prayers you offer for my health from [St. Peter’s] Square,” Pope Francis said in the Spanish-language message. “I accompany you from here. May God bless you, and may the Virgin protect you. Thank you.”
The message was broadcast in St. Peter’s Square to a large group of believers who had congregated there to pray for the pope.
Catholics have flocked to the Vatican to pray for Pope Francis’s health in droves since his initial hospitalization in February. Shortly before the image of the pope was released on Sunday, a group of children surrounded Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where the pope was admitted, with signs of support and engaging in group prayers.
The children displayed flags from the various nations they represented and left gifts such as rosaries and votive candles for him.
Vatican News reported that the group included “around 200 children from UNICEF and various groups from Italy.”
The pope’s hospitalization has coincided with Lent, a 40-day period during which Catholics prepare for the arrival of Easter, the holiest of Christian holidays, through various practices including fasting and extended prayers. Pope Francis has continued to publish texts marking the Lenten period during his hospital stay and did so on Sunday, again, marking the second Sunday of Lent with a message of gratitude to his supporters and some reflection on his illness.
“I thank you all for your prayers, and I thank those who assist me with such dedication,” the pope wrote. “I know that many children are praying for me; some of them came here today to Gemelli as a sign of closeness. Thank you, dearest children! The Pope loves you and is always waiting to meet you.”
On his illness, Pope Francis wrote that he is “facing a period of trial” and described himself as “fragile,” along with “so many brothers and sisters who are sick.”
“Our bodies are weak but, even like this, nothing can prevent us from loving, praying, giving ourselves, being for each other, in faith, shining signs of hope,” the pope wrote. “How much light shines, in this sense, in hospitals and places of care! How much loving care illuminates the rooms, the corridors, the clinics, the places where the humblest services are performed!”
Candles and rosaries are laid at the statue of John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized with pneumonia, in Rome on March 17, 2025. The poster reads ‘Dear Pope, the company of the Work of Nazareth prays for you. See you soon’. ( TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty)
Observers have suggested that the continuous output of messages and administration of Vatican duties by the pope indicates a wish to continue serving at the head of the Church. Of particular note is the pope’s decision on March 11 to approve a new phase in the Synod on Synodality, a long-term reform plan that will now enter a three-year implementation period. In the public absence of the pope, the Vatican has also announced new initiatives such as the opening up of Lenten Sermons for the Roman Curia to the general public.
“Fr. Roberto Pasolini, OFM Cap, Preacher of the Papal Household, will lead the meditations, which this year begin this Friday and continue on the Fridays leading up to Holy Week,” Vatican News reported. “The theme of the sermons this Lent, the Press Office said, is “Anchored in Christ. Rooted and founded in the hope of new Life.”
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