Pope Francis Marks Palm Sunday At Vatican

April 2, 2023 8:15 am

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has presided over his first ceremony in St. Peter’s Square following a three-day hospitalization for bronchitis. The sun broke through the clouds during the Palm Sunday Mass, one of the longest services on the Church’s calendar. He took a chair under a canopy as scores of priests and thousands of rank-and-file faithful clutching palm fronds or olive branches filled the square. The pope’s voice sounded strong at the start of the Mass but quickly turned hoarse. He later spent nearly 20 minutes circling the square in the popemobile. The 86-year-old pontiff was discharged from a Rome hospital on Saturday after receiving antibiotics intravenously. Palm Sunday opened his heavy schedule of Holy Week appointments.