Convalescing Pope Francis opens Holy Week with in-person greeting in St. Peter's Square

A convalescing Pope Francis has greeted the crowd in St. Peter’s Square on Palm Sunday, wishing more than 20,000 faithful a “Happy Palm Sunday, Happy Holy Week." It was another reassuring sign of his recovery after a life-threatening battle with double pneumonia. Many in the crowd reached out to touch Francis’ hand or garments as he was brought in a wheelchair down a ramp to the main altar, where he issued his brief greeting into a microphone. Francis was not wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, as he had during a similar appearance last Sunday.