Pope Francis will deliver the Angelus prayer blessing from a window at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Sunday, marking his first public appearance since his hospitalisation on 14 February, the Vatican announced on Saturday.
The Vatican press office stated that the Pope plans to offer a greeting and blessing from the hospital window at the end of the prayer, which will be published in written form as in recent weeks.
Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, Argentina’s Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, mentioned in a press conference that the Pope needs to “relearn to speak” after receiving high-flow oxygen therapy.
The 88-year-old Pope has not led the weekly Angelus prayer since 9 February, missing this event for five consecutive weeks—a first since his election in March 2013.
Typically, the Pope recites the Angelus prayer publicly every Sunday at noon from a window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter’s Square, where faithful gather to see and hear him.
The Vatican’s announcement comes amid reports of recent improvements in the Pope’s health after concerns that his life was at risk due to pneumonia in both lungs.
In its latest medical bulletin released on Wednesday, the Vatican confirmed the Pope’s clinical condition has improved. Though Francis’s pneumonia has not been completely “eliminated,” it is now “under control.”
