Pope Francis shared that he is experiencing “healing,” specifically “in my soul and my body,” as he reaches the eighth day of the minimum two-month period of rest and convalescence prescribed by his doctors. He shared this in a brief written message for the midday Angelus on Sunday, March 30, which was released by the Vatican.
This reassuring news came after the Vatican confirmed on Friday, March 28, that the 88-year-old pope was showing “improvements” in both his breathing and speech as a result of the triple therapy he is undergoing—pharmacological, respiratory and physical therapy—which he is continuing to receive in Santa Marta, the Vatican guest house where he lives, after his discharge from the hospital on Sunday, March 23.
It was the seventh consecutive Sunday that he did not deliver his own text at the midday Angelus due to speech difficulties linked to his respiratory problems. In today’s written message, he invited people to “live this Lent as a time of healing, all the more as it is the Jubilee [Year],” revealing that, “I too am experiencing it this way, in my soul and in my body,” he said. “That is why, I give heartfelt thanks to all those who, in the image of the Savior, are instruments of healing for their neighbor with their word and their knowledge, with kindness and with prayer.”
Francis reminded people that “frailty and illness are experiences we all have in common; all the more, however, we are brothers in the salvation Christ has given us.” His words appeared to echo what he said five years ago, on March 27, 2020, when he stood alone in a rain-drenched St. Peter’s Square and implored God to save humanity from the Covid-19 epidemic. Then, he prayed for the world’s recovery; now so many across the world are praying for his full recovery.
The Jesuit pope began his Angelus message, as he usually does, with a brief reflection on the day’s Gospel (Lk 15:1-3, 11-32), which tells the story of the prodigal son and the merciful father.
In that text, “Jesus notices that the Pharisees are scandalized and murmur behind His back, instead of being happy because sinners come to Him. So Jesus tells them about a father who has two sons: one leaves home, but then, having been reduced to poverty, he returns and is welcomed with joy. The other, the ‘obedient’ son, is indignant at his father and does not want to enter the feast,” the pope said. “This is how Jesus reveals the heart of God: He is always merciful towards all; he heals our wounds so that we can love each other as brothers.”
From his convalescence, Pope Francis, ever attentive to global events, called on people, “trusting in the mercy of God,” to “continue to pray for peace: in martyred Ukraine, in Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Myanmar”— all countries where the people are suffering from the ongoing armed conflicts and war.
In addition to the civil war that the people of Myanmar have endured since 2021 when the military coup overturned the elections, Francis—who visited the country in 2017—recalled that the people are now “suffering so much because of the earthquake”, referring to the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that hit the country last week and caused the deaths of more than 1,600 people and widespread destruction. It also affected Thailand. Francis sent a telegram expressing his closeness to the people there, and Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, the president of the Myanmar Bishops’ Conference, called for an end to the hostilities to enable humanitarian aid to reach the people struck by the massive earthquake.
Pope Francis also expressed his “concern” for the situation in South Sudan, which he visited in February 2023, and made yet another “heartfelt appeal to all leaders to do their utmost to lower the tension in the country.” He called on them to “put aside [your] differences and, with courage and responsibility, sit around a table and engage in constructive dialogue. Only in this way will it be possible to alleviate the suffering of the beloved South Sudanese people and to build a future of peace and stability.”
Francis is well aware that South Sudan risks being drawn into civil war in neighboring Sudan, from which it separated in 2011. The war in Sudan “continues to claim innocent victims,” he said, urging “the parties concerned in the conflict to put the safeguarding of the lives of their civilian brothers and sisters first.” He expressed the hope “that new negotiations will begin as soon as possible, capable of securing a lasting solution to the crisis,” and he called on the international community to “increase its efforts to address the appalling humanitarian catastrophe” in the country. He was referring to the fact that, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), around 12 million people have been displaced since 2023 due to this civil war, with 8.4 million of them internally displaced, and approximately 30 million in need of humanitarian assistance. Many have fled to South Sudan.
Pope Francis concluded his message on a more hopeful note. “Thanks be to God, there are also positive events,” he said. He then welcomed the ratification of the agreement on the demarcation of the border between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, describing it as “an excellent diplomatic achievement.” He added, “I encourage both countries to continue on this path.”
Pope Francis concluded his message praying through the intercession of the Blessed Mother: “May Mary, Mother of Mercy, help the human family to be reconciled in peace.”
