Pope’s image: First look since hospitalization

Shafaq News/ On Monday, the Vatican released the first photo of Pope Francis since his hospitalization at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.

The image, distributed by the Holy See Press Office, was showing him seated in a wheelchair, praying before a crucifix in the hospital’s chapel. For weeks, journalists and the public had requested an image of the 88-year-old pontiff, whose last public photos were taken before his admission.

Pope Francis described his hospitalization as a “period of trial” in his Sunday Angelus reflections, expressing solidarity with the sick, saying, “fragile, at this time, like me.”

The Pope has been receiving treatment since February 14 for a respiratory infection that spread to his lungs, marking his fifth absence from the Angelus prayer at St. Peter’s Square. While his condition has improved, doctors stress that he still requires additional recovery time.