“Happy Sunday to all”. They grasp the few words of Pope Francis who, without any notice, arrived in St. Peter’s Square on the wheelchair. Only these two words, from the churchyard, but capable of great strength. The conclusion of the Mass for the Jubilee of the sick a great emotion runs through the square. Then a speaker, in his name, greets all those who participated in the celebration and thanks for the prayers for his health by imparting the blessing to everyone.
It is 11.38 when the surprise takes shape among the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square. Pope Francis arrives in a wheelchair, pushed slowly, between the amazement and emotion of the crowd. His face is pale, the faint voice, still supported by nasal cannulas. But the smile is the one of all time. It reaches the altar at the end of the mass, traces the sign of the cross and whispers to the microphone: “Happy Sunday to all, thanks many!”.
Still convalescent after the 38 days of hospitalization for bilateral pneumonia at Gemelli, he wanted to be there. Silently, like the sick to which this Jubilee is dedicated. He received the sacrament of reconciliation in the Basilica, passed through the Holy Door and then greeted the faithful. With discretion, without clamor. Like one of them.
The Holy See makes it known that Francesco still lives isolated in Santa Marta, because of the low immune defenses. But the will to participate in this day was stronger than prudence. In the homily read by Monsignor Rino Fisichella, Francesco writes words that touch: “With you, dear brothers and sisters, I share a lot: the experience of infirmity, to feel weak, to depend on others …”.
The square applaudes. From Santa Marta, it was thought, he would follow the mass on TV. Instead, here he is there, close as never before. “Even when our strengths fail – says the Pope in the homily – we can experience the consolation of his presence. He himself shared our weakness. We can entrust our pain to him ».
Words that do not remain theoretical. Francesco speaks with the voice of those who know what it means to suffer. Like him, many others. They are aimed at them with a message of tenderness and realism: “The room of the hospital and the bed of infirmity can become places in which to hear the Lord’s voice:” Here, I do a new thing: just now sprouts, don’t you notice? “”.
Then he quotes Benedict XVI, the predecessor who had learned to combine faith and illness: “A society that cannot accept the suffering is cruel and inhuman”. The Pope signs it. And it relaunches: “Sharing pain is an important stage of every path of holiness”.
In the text of the Angelus, Francesco had prayed for doctors and nurses: «They are not always helped to work in adequate conditions. Sometimes they are even victims of attacks. Their mission must be supported and respected ». And he asks for investments for health and research, so that “the health systems are inclusive and attentive to the most fragile and the poorest”.
