As the Catholic Church begins its most solemn period of the year, Pope Francis made another surprise appearance in St. Peter’s Square at the end of Palm Sunday Mass, wishing faithful a blessed start to Holy Week.

Pope Francis waives to faithful and cardinals at the end of Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square on April 13, 2025. (Credit: Vatican Media/Screenshot.)

“Have a good Palm Sunday, have a good Holy Week!” the pope told believers Sunday, speaking in a still raspy but notably improved voice after being wheeled in front of the main altar in St. Peter’s Square by his personal nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti.

Francis was not using his oxygen on Sunday, as he has been during other sightings throughout the week. He uses it only as needed, mostly at night, and is now able to go for “prolonged” periods without it during the day.

For the past three weeks, since being discharged from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital March 23, Francis has been undergoing respiratory, motor and speech physiotherapy amid his ongoing recovery from a complex respiratory infection and double pneumonia.

His appearance this Sunday, April 13, for the official start of Holy Week marks the fifth time in the past seven days alone that he has made unannounced appearances both inside and outside of the Vatican walls, casting doubt as to how closely he is adhering to a doctor-mandated two-month period of rest.

Sunday’s Mass was celebrated by Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, vice dean of the College of Cardinals and prefect emeritus of the Dicastery for Eastern Churches.

In a homily written by Pope Francis and read aloud by Sandri during Sunday’s Mass, the pope focused on the actions, heart, and footsteps of Simon of Cyrene, who helped Jesus carry his cross.

“Between him and Jesus, there is no dialogue; not a single word is spoken. Between him and Jesus, there is only the wood of the cross,” the pope said, noting that Simon after being asked by guards to help was now “caught up in a drama” that was not his own.

To know whether Simon truly “took up” the cross with Jesus, or simply helped him carry it, it is necessary to look into his heart, Francis said.

“We do not know what went on in Simon’s heart. Let us imagine ourselves in his place: would we feel anger or pity, compassion or annoyance? When we think of what Simon did for Jesus, we should also think of what Jesus did for Simon – what he did for me, for you, for each of us: he redeemed the world,” he said.

Simon participated in “this unexpected and astonishing” path of suffering and love that Jesus took, he said, saying Simon’s footsteps along that journey are an illustration that “Jesus comes to meet everyone,
in every situation.”

“When we see the great crowds of men and women whom hatred and violence are compelling to walk the road to Calvary, let us remember that God has made this road a place of redemption, for he walked it himself, giving his life for us,” he said.

The cross is never borne “in vain,” but is a tangible way to experience Christ’s redeeming love, the pope said, saying the suffering Jesus becomes compassion “whenever we hold out our hand to those who feel they cannot go on, when we lift up those who have fallen, when we embrace those who are discouraged.”

In a written Angelus address published after Mass Sunday, Pope Francis thanked faithful for their continued prayers for his health and recovery, saying at a time of physical weakness, “they help me to feel God’s closeness, compassion and tenderness even more.”

He asked faithful to also pray for all those afflicted by war, poverty or natural disasters, especially the victims of a building collapse in Santo Domingo.

He noted that April 15 will mark “the second sad anniversary” of renewed conflict in Sudan, which has left thousands dead and millions displaced.

“The suffering of children, women and vulnerable people cries out to heaven and begs us to act,” he said, and asked all parties involved to pursue dialogue, and the international community to assist needy populations.

He closed praying for peace in other countries at war, including Lebanon, Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, and South Sudan.