VATICAN CITY — In a rare and touching moment, Pope Francis made a surprise appearance at St. Peter’s Basilica on Thursday, dressed not in his usual white papal robes but in black pants and a striped blanket across his chest.
The 88-year-old pope, currently on a two-month recovery break after a serious bout of double pneumonia, was seen being wheeled through the basilica while wearing a nasal oxygen tube. The visit was captured on video by Luiz Gil, a tourist at the Vatican, and confirmed by Reuters through metadata verification.
Francis waved to visitors as security made way, pausing briefly to greet a family with a baby—one of his first public appearances since his hospital discharge on March 23. His only other recent sighting was a brief wave to crowds in St. Peter’s Square on April 6.
While it’s not unheard of for the pope to wear civilian clothing during international trips, it remains a rare sight in Vatican City. This unannounced visit served as a quiet but powerful sign of his resilience and closeness to the faithful even during recovery.
The Vatican has said the pontiff is steadily improving after spending 38 days in hospital, his longest and most serious health ordeal since taking office.