After his unscheduled visit to Santa Maria Maggiore on Saturday, Pope Francis crossed St Peter’s Square in the Vatican on Sunday morning in his wheelchair at the end of the Palm Sunday Mass in another surprise appearance.
Amid applause and prayers, the pontiff greeted and blessed the faithful. After completing the tour of the square, the pope went back to his rooms in Santa Marta.
“When we see the multitude of men and women who hate and violence throw on the way to Calvary, let us remember that God transforms this way into a place of redemption, because he walked it by giving his life for us,” the Pope wrote in his homily for the Palm Sunday Mass read by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri in a square packed with the faithful.
“In the face of the atrocious injustice of evil, carrying the cross of Christ is never in vain, indeed, it is the most concrete way of sharing his saving love,” the pontiff added in his address.
“The passion of Jesus becomes compassion when we reach out our hand to those who can no longer bear it, when we lift up those who have fallen, when we embrace those who are discouraged,” he explained.
Pope Francis is still recovering from illness after spending 38 days at the Gemelli polyclinic in Rome for double pneumonia, which at times became critical, according to his doctors.
After his release from hospital, he continued with his duties as the head of the Catholic Church and the Vatican — although without leading public religious ceremonies — and has appeared publicly several times in the past week. On Thursday, he made a surprise visit to St Peter’s Cathedral, while on Saturday he visited the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.
On Wednesday, he met the British royals, King Charles III and Queen Camilla, in an unscheduled appearance. Last Sunday, he returned to St Peter’s Square for the first time to greet the faithful at the Mass for the Jubilee — the Catholic Church’s holy year.
