Released from the hospital, Pope Francis must preside over the Palm Sunday Mass

Antonino Galofaro and AFP 08:01, 02 April 2023

The day after he was released from hospital for bronchitis, Pope Francis is scheduled to preside over Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square, an important event in the Christian calendar marking the start of Holy Week.

"I'm still alive"

Francis, 86, left Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Saturday after a three-night stay, appearing fit and in a joking mood. "I'm still alive," he replied, smiling at journalists and worshippers gathered outside the hospital who asked him how he felt.

The leader of Catholics' 1.3 billion people has suffered from growing health problems for several years, including knee pain that forces him to use a wheelchair and cane.

During Palm and Easter Masses, he is expected to remain seated while a cardinal leads the ceremony at the altar. According to the Holy See, this organization was decided before his hospitalization, as the Argentine pontiff was no longer able to stand for long periods.

Ten years at the head of the world Catholic Church

On Wednesday, the Vatican announced he was going to Rome's Gemelli Hospital for scheduled tests, before admitting he had difficulty breathing and was suffering from a "respiratory infection" requiring antibiotic treatment. This is his second hospitalization since 2021, when he underwent colon surgery, also in Gemelli.

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Earlier this month, Pope Francis celebrated ten years at the head of the global Catholic Church. He pushed through major governance reforms and sought to forge a more open and compassionate church, though he faced internal opposition, particularly from conservatives.

Continuous monitoring by a team of caregivers

He has repeatedly said he would consider resigning — like his predecessor Benedict XVI, who died in December — if his health faltered, but he said last month that was not the case. Francis' previous stay in Gemelli, in July 2021, lasted 10 days. He had been admitted for a major colon operation. He claims to have kept "sequelae" of anesthesia, which pushed him to rule out knee surgery so far.

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In an interview in January, Jorge Bergoglio said he again suffers from diverticulitis, an inflammation of the diverticula, hernias or pouches that form on the walls of the digestive system.

The pope is constantly monitored by a team of caregivers, both in the Vatican and during his travels abroad. A precaution all the more necessary as he has behind him a heavy medical history: at 21, he almost died of pleurisy and had a lung partially removed.