The Vatican released the first photo of Pope Francis since his admission to hospital last month with pneumonia in both his lungs. The pope cast a somber figure; seated in a wheelchair and taken from his right side, only a portion of the 88-year-old’s face is visible as he celebrates Holy Mass in the chapel on the tenth floor of the Gemelli hospital, in Rome, where he is continuing his treatment. “This morning, Pope Francis concelebrated the Holy Mass in the chapel of the apartment on the tenth floor of the Gemelli polyclinic,” the Vatican wrote. Concelebration is the gathering of multiple priests to celebrate mass. It added the image is the first since his hospitalization on February 14. Vatican News added his condition remained stable after weeks of concerns about the Pope’s health. Francis was reportedly struggling to breathe when admitted, and was diagnosed with a respiratory tract infection, pneumonia in both lungs and mild kidney failure. The Vatican confirmed Saturday that while his condition was improving, “the Holy Father still requires hospital medical care, as well as physiotherapy and respiratory physiotherapy.” In an Angelus message on Sunday, the Pope described himself as “fragile” and “weak.” “I am sharing these thoughts with you while I am facing a period of trial, and I join with so many brothers and sisters who are sick: fragile, at this time, like me,” Francis wrote. “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.”
Questa mattina #PapaFrancesco ha concelebrato la Santa Messa nella cappella dell’appartamento al decimo piano del Policlinico Gemelli.
© Sala Stampa della Santa Sede pic.twitter.com/B9RxrlcOgU
— Vatican News (@vaticannews_it) March 16, 2025