Shafaqna English- Vatican releases first image of Pope Francis in hospital. The photo shared by the Vatican on Sunday (16 Mar 2025), the first of Francis since his hospitalization is said to have been taken earlier in the day, when, officials said, Francis was co-celebrating Mass in the chapel of his hospital suite where he has been battling the worst health crisis of his papacy.
No one else is present in the photo and there are no signs of tubes or an oxygen mask. The pope is positioned on the opposite side of where a priest might stand to say Mass. The identity of the photographer who took the image was not disclosed.
Francis is said to be recovering. The latest health update from the Vatican on Sunday night called his condition “stable,” noting that he continued sessions of respiratory and motor therapy. He had no visitors and spent the day praying, resting, and doing a “little work.”
In a written version of his Angelus prayer — typically read aloud by the pope on Sundays, though he has not done so since his hospital admission — Francis acknowledged the extent of his health troubles. “I am sharing these thoughts with you while I am facing a period of trial and I join with so many brothers and sisters who are sick: fragile, at this time, like me. Our bodies are weak but, even like this, nothing can prevent us from loving, praying, giving ourselves, being for each other, in faith, shining signs of hope.”
Despite intense pressure from the media, the Vatican had refrained from distributing or allowing photographs of the ailing pope. Instead, it has issued surprisingly detailed reports on his health and described several meetings between the pope and senior clerics and one early in his stay with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Source: The Washington Post