Pope Francis returned to Saint Peter’s Square this Sunday to celebrate Mass on Palm Sunday, a day after being discharged from the hospital with bronchitis. According to the Vatican, around 30,000 worshipers gathered in the square, carrying traditional palm fronds and olive branches.
Despite having a knee problem, Pope Francis remained seated for most of the Mass, while Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Vice Dean of the College of Cardinals, celebrated Mass at the altar. In his homily, the pontiff spoke about those who have been abandoned by society, including the poor, migrants, prisoners and the sick.
“Entire towns are exploited and abandoned; the poor live in our streets and we look the other way,” the pope said. “Migrants are no longer faces but numbers; the prisoners are disowned; people dismissed as problems. Countless other abandoned are among us, invisible, hidden, discarded with white gloves: unborn children, the elderly who live alone, the sick who are not visited, the disabled who are ignored and the young overwhelmed by a great inner emptiness, no one prepared to hear his cry of pain,” Francisco said.
Palm Sunday marks the beginning of one of the busiest weeks for Pope Francis, who will visit a juvenile prison on Thursday, lead the Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum in Rome on Friday and participate in the Easter Vigil Mass on Saturday and Easter Sunday mass on April 9.
At the end of the Palm Sunday mass, Pope Francis thanked the faithful for their prayers, while he was in the hospital for bronchitis. The 86-year-old pontiff had been admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Wednesday afternoon and after receiving treatment, he was released on Saturday morning.
After being discharged, Pope Francis also visited the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore to pray for the sick children in the oncology unit of the hospital he visited. With these activities, the pontiff shows his commitment to his work and to the people most in need.