Pope Francis baptized a baby and greeted children at Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Friday as he appeared to be rapidly recovering from a bout of bronchitis that saw him hospitalized earlier this week.
Francis will return home on Saturday, the Vatican said, and is scheduled to attend the Palm Sunday service the following day to mark the start of Holy Week celebrations.
“After evaluating the results of the tests carried out today and the favorable clinical progress, (the medical team) confirmed the Holy Father’s discharge from the Gemelli Hospital tomorrow,” a Vatican statement said.
The 86-year-old pope was taken to hospital two days ago after complaining of breathing difficulties. He was diagnosed with bronchitis and responded well to an infusion of antibiotics, his medical team said.
Highlighting the pope’s improved health, the Vatican released a video showing him standing and baptizing a baby in a hospital crib. In a separate photograph, Francis was shown handing an Easter egg to a child.
This Friday afternoon, #PopeFrancis visited the children in the Pediatric Oncology ward of the Gemelli hospital, taking rosaries, chocolate eggs and books to them. In half an hour, the Pope baptized little Miguel Angel, just a few weeks old. pic.twitter.com/WuLYg9geSq
— Vatican News (@vaticannews_pt) March 31, 2023
The Vatican said he spent about 30 minutes in the children’s cancer and neurosurgery wards before returning to his own room.
The dean of the college of cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, said the cardinals would assist the pope during Easter celebrations next week and take care of altar duties.
Holy Week, as it’s known, includes a packed schedule of rituals and ceremonies that can be physically exhausting, including an evening Good Friday procession in Rome’s Coliseum.
The pope was also forced to watch some of the events of last Easter sitting down due to persistent pain in his knee, with cardinals celebrating some of the Masses in his place.
Francis, who celebrated the 10th anniversary of his pontificate earlier this month, has suffered from a number of illnesses in recent years. He was last hospitalized in July 2021 when he had part of his colon removed in an operation intended to treat a painful intestinal condition called diverticulitis.
“When lived with faith, the trials and difficulties of life serve to purify our hearts, making them more humble and therefore more and more open to God,” the pope tweeted on Friday (31).
In a sign of confidence about the pope’s health, the Catholic Church in Marseille said in a statement that the pontiff would visit the southern French city on Sept. 23 and attend a meeting of bishops and young people from across the Mediterranean.
(Written by Crispian Balmer, Gavin Jones and Alvise Armellini. Edited by Alison Williams, Peter Graff and Frances Kerry)
Source: CNN Brasil
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