Speaking from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square, the Holy Father said Jesus calls us “to live without compromise, free from selfish ambitions and unjust motives.”
Pope Leo XIV appeared at the window of his private study in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace on Sunday, just one day after being discharged early from the hospital following surgery last Tuesday.
It was the first time the Holy Father had spoken publicly since the operation. The appearance was eagerly awaited by Catholics around the world, who had anxiously followed each new official Vatican bulletin on his medical condition in recent days.
Looking serene, the pontiff reflected on the Gospel proclaimed at Sunday’s Mass, which contains one of Jesus’ best-known teachings: “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Hundreds of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square despite a morning of cloudy skies and intermittent rain in Rome. They were eager to see the Pope recovering from surgery and to express their affection for him the day after his release from the hospital.
At 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Leo left Rome’s Gemelli Hospital following his first hospitalization since the beginning of his pontificate, during
