It was a remarkable appearance in so many ways – magical for the crowds outside the Gemelli hospital, and of course also for the Pope, who thrives on interaction with the faithful.
Bear in mind this is an 88-year-old who has been fighting for his life and at one point during the last five weeks was in a critical condition with pneumonia in both lungs.
Even the Pope‘s own doctors said his life was in danger, yet he’s currently on a steady path to recovery and has now left hospital.
But seeing the fragile pontiff on the balcony, while alert and giving the thumbs up, at one point he also looked uncomfortable and was struggling to breathe after just a few minutes before the crowd.
As he was driven back to the Vatican in his white Fiat Papal car, he was dependent on the use of nasal cannulas to supply him with oxygen.
This was the day it became clear the papacy will never be the same again.
This is now a papacy which is less dynamic and more prophetic. The Pope’s mind, we have consistently been told, is agile. During his stay in hospital, doctors said he “had the mind of a 50-year-old”.
So we can now expect a Pope who will lead spiritually but hardly in person – at least for the next two months.
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We can expect more balcony appearances from the Vatican in future. But his overseas visits will almost certainly be cancelled and his meetings limited.
Pope Francis clearly still has a lot of recovering to do – but he has made it clear he wants this to continue from the Vatican as soon as possible.
