Pope makes appearance from Gemelli hospital: ‘Thank you all. Silence war in Gaza’.

Francis appeared in public after 37 days in hospital, greeting the faithful before his departure. Weak and tired, he gave his blessing and thanked everyone in a faint voice. During the Angelus prayer he praised the ‘patient trust’ of the doctors. Sadness for the Israeli bombings: a ‘definitive’ ceasefire and a ‘resumption of dialogue’ have been requested. Satisfaction for the peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Rome (AsiaNews) - Pope Francis has appeared once again in public, this time from a balcony of the Gemelli Polyclinic, after 37 days of hospitalisation.

Today, a few moments after midday, 3 thousand people gathered around the statue of Wojtyla, symbol of the Roman hospital - defined by St John Paul II as the ‘cathedra of suffering’ - to witness the historic appearance.

Yesterday the Pope's release from hospital had been announced, effective after his farewell this morning: now he will spend ‘at least two months’ at Casa Santa Marta, where he arrived at 12:45 today. On the way there he stopped at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore to pray before the icon of the Salus Populi Romani.

Bergoglio appeared exhausted, pushed in his wheelchair; he waved with his right hand and raised his thumb as soon as the faithful welcomed him with a roar and chants of encouragement.

His eyes scanned the crowd, attracted by many stimuli, as intuitively had not happened for weeks. Among all the people, Pope Francis paused to look at a lady in the front row - he pointed at her, smiling - who was waving a bunch of yellow flowers above her head.

‘Thank you all. I see this lady with the yellow flowers... she's good!’. These were the pontiff's first words to the public.

Finally he gave his blessing, tracing a cross in the air with his right hand. Slow movements, an evident difficulty in raising his arm. More cheers and shouts from the crowd. At the beginning of the public appearance there was a quick exchange of words with the person accompanying him. ‘Would you like to say a few words of thanks over the microphone?’ he is asked.

Pope Francis says yes. In his gestures, as in his words, we recognise the distinctive traits of the pontiff. He identifies a single person in the crowd, and gives a personal and specific thanks, which however has a universal meaning.

And his weak voice - now unable to pronounce too many words - but authoritative and necessary in this time of world conflicts, emerges from the text of the Angelus broadcast to coincide with today's greeting.

‘During this long period of isolation, I have had the opportunity to experience the Lord's patience, which I also see reflected in the tireless concern of doctors and healthcare workers, as well as in the attention and hopes of the families of the sick,’ he said. Bergoglio recognises in their actions a “confident patience, anchored in the love of God that never fails”. This is ‘necessary’ to face suffering.

‘I was saddened by the resumption of heavy Israeli bombardments on the Gaza Strip, with many dead and wounded,’ he continued. Today, the Hamas Ministry of Health announced that the number of Palestinian victims in the enclave since 7 October 2023 is over 50,000. Furthermore, during the night another 19 people were killed by Israeli bombardments, including Salah al-Bardaweel - Hamas political leader - and his wife.

‘I ask that the weapons be silenced immediately; and that there be the courage to resume dialogue, so that all the hostages may be freed and a definitive ceasefire reached - said Pope Francis -. In the Strip the humanitarian situation is once again very serious and requires the urgent commitment of the warring parties and the international community’.

Regarding the courage of dialogue, the pontiff said he was “pleased” with an important diplomatic result. That between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which in recent days have agreed on the final text of the peace agreement, after four decades of hostility. ‘I hope it will be signed as soon as possible and thus help to establish lasting peace in the South Caucasus’, said Bergoglio.

“And together we implore an end to war and the establishment of peace, especially in battered Ukraine, in Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo”, he added, mentioning many countries at war.