Pope Francis presided over the Palm Sunday ceremony and gave the homily the day after he was released from the hospital, kicking off Holy Week in the Vatican in unexpectedly good spirits.
On Sunday, April 2, at 10 a.m., Francis arrived in a white jeep at the obelisk in the middle of St. Peter’s Square. Francis had been hospitalized for three days with bronchitis. The pope was wearing a white overcoat to stay warm in the chilly weather, which was around 55 degrees under a gloomy sky. Before the pope arrived, there were already 40 cardinals, 30 bishops, and a large group of children with palm branches gathering at the obelisk. They were all dressed in crimson vestments and white miters. “americamagazine.org”