Pope Francis made what would ultimately be his final public appearance on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square outside the Vatican to celebrate the Easter holiday.
The Pope would pass away less than 24 hours later at the age of 88. It was his first public appearance before a large crowd in weeks after undergoing a severe bout with bilateral pneumonia.
His appearance brought joy and inspiration to an estimated crowd of over 35,000 people from around the world attending Easter Sunday Mass at St. Peter’s Square in Italy. The pontiff’s visit was a surprise, especially since he greeted the crowd by traveling outside in his popemobile, according to the Associated Press. His Holiness spent about 50 minutes outside among the gathered Catholics, greeting those in attendance and occasionally stopping to bless babies brought up to him.
The pontiff used to perform such greetings and baby-blessing scenes regularly. However, his health issues and advanced age had limited his appearances in recent months. Nevertheless, his surprise appearance inspired the crowd, who were enthralled to see the leader of the Catholic Church on the religion’s holiest days.
Pope Francis was greeted with enthusiastic cheers, with the crowd shouting such phrases of adoration as “Viva il Papa!” (Italian for “Long live the Pope) and “Bravo.”
Traditionally, the Pope gives Easter Mass from the balcony of the Vatican overlooking St. Peter’s Square to thousands of Catholics gathered there. However, understandably, Pope Francis did not do so this year, opting to delegate the mass services to Cardinal Angelo Comastri, the retired archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, the Associated Press reported.
The Pope did give one last blessing before his death. After Easter Mass, Pope Francis reportedly stayed for about 20 minutes and delivered the Apostolic blessing in Latin.
Margarita Torres Hernandez was among the thousands in attendance, making a pilgrimage from Mexico to St. Peter’s Square. She spoke to the Associated Press about how Pope Francis’s appearance was an inspirational moment in her life, calling it a “miracle.”
“It is excellent, a miracle,” Hernandez said. “Now that he has come out, for me, it’s a miracle. It’s something very big, very beautiful.”
