The Vatican on Sunday released the first photo of Pope Francis since his hospitalization on 14 February, showing the Pontiff in prayer after concelebrating Mass in the private chapel of the Gemelli Hospital.
According to the Holy See Press Office, the photo was taken on Sunday morning, 16 March, and distributed to the public later in the evening.
In the image, Pope Francis is seen from behind, seated in a wheelchair, wearing a cassock and stole, gazing at the crucifix on the altar of the chapel located on the tenth floor of the hospital.
The Holy Father has gone to pray in this chapel every day since his medical condition showed slight improvements, Vatican News reported.
For several days, members of the press and the public had requested visual confirmation of the Pope’s condition.
The last time Pope Francis was seen publicly was over a month ago, when he received members of Spain’s Gaudium et Spes Foundation at his residence in Santa Marta, shortly before his hospitalization.
Since then, apart from his medical team and closest collaborators, no one has seen the Pope. His voice, however, was heard on 6 March through an audio recording played during a Rosary prayer gathering in Saint Peter’s Square.
The Holy See Press Office said that the Pope’s daily routine includes prayer, rest, and ongoing therapy—both pharmacological and respiratory, in addition to physiotherapy, which has been particularly beneficial.
The Pope did not receive visitors on Sunday and continued with some work.
His medical condition, as previously reported, remains stable but is still considered “complex” by the medical team attending to him.
As a result, official medical bulletins are being issued less frequently. However, the Press Office continues to provide daily updates to the media, with the number of accredited journalists now reaching 700—a figure that has risen since his hospitalization.
Pope Francis continues to reside at the Gemelli Hospital, now for over a month. In his Sunday Angelus reflections on 16 March, he described this period as “a period of trial” and added that he has united his prayers with “the many other sick brothers and sisters, fragile, at this time, like me.”
