Pope Francis opens Holy Week in-person with emotional greeting on Palm Sunday

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

A convalescing Pope Francis greeted the crowd in St. Peter's Square on Palm Sunday, wishing more than 20,000 faithful a "Happy Palm Sunday, Happy Holy Week," in yet another reassuring public sign of his recovery from 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. The 88-year-old pope was not wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, as he had during a similar appearance last Sunday.

On his way back to St. Peter's Basilica from where he had emerged, Francis stopped to bless a rosary, and offered candy to a boy who greeted him. The 88-year-old Francis is entering his fourth week of convalescence during which doctors have advised him to avoid crowds, the Associated Press reported.

While Francis is clearly eager to show he is feeling better, he has not spoken more than a few words in public as he recovers from a severe respiratory crisis that has labored his speech. The Vatican said it was waiting to advise on what role he may play in upcoming Holy Week events leading up to Easter Sunday.

This comes a week after Francis made an unexpected public appearance at the conclusion of Sunday Mass in St Peter's Square during a special jubilee mass for the sick and health workers. This was his first public appearance since being released from hospital two weeks ago following a severe case of double pneumonia.

The crowd erupted in cheers as the 88-year-old pontiff was brought out in a wheelchair into the sunlit square for his surprise return today. Some shouted, "I see the pope!" as his image first appeared on a large screen showing him passing through the Holy Door before being escorted down a ramp to the altar.

Since then the pope has met privately with King Charles III and Queen Camilla this week, and made an impromptu tour of St. Peter's Basilica, stopping to pray, and to thank a pair of restorers for their work on the basilica's masterpieces.

On Saturday, the eve of Holy Week, Francis went to the St. Mary Major Basilica in central Rome to pray privately before a favorite icon of the Virgin Mary, Salus Populi Romani.

The basilica, which he typically visits before and after his foreign trips, was also his first stop after leaving the Gemelli hospital on March 23. In the traditional Sunday blessing, the pontiff thanked the faithful for their prayers. "At this time of physical weakness, they help me to feel God's closeness, compassion and tenderness even more."

For the ninth week, including his five-week hospitalization starting Feb. 14, the blessing was delivered as a text. The pope offered prayers for those suffering in the conflict in Sudan, which marks its second anniversary on Tuesday, and for Lebanon, where civil war began 50 years ago, as well as for peace in Ukraine, the Middle East, Congo, Myanmar and South Sudan.

In a prepared Palm Sunday homily read by a top Vatican cardinal, Francis urged the faithful to carry the cross "of those who suffer around us" to mark the start of the solemn Holy Week.

"There was a bit of worry when a few drops fell and it was windy but then at the end he surprised us and it was a really great emotion," said Luigi Mighali. "I think his words, `Happy Holy Week and Happy Palm Sunday,' moved everyone."Yesica Andagua, a Peruvian nun, said she was gratified to see the pope doing so well.

"The truth is that it has given me a lot of joy, at least for me, to see that he is getting better and may he get better soon, God willing," she said.

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