Pope Francis’s repeated surprise outings and appearances last week, especially his unannounced presence at the end of Sunday Masses in St. Peter’s Square, could provide a glimpse of what the so-called “new phase” of his papacy will look like.
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ROME – When Pope Francis was discharged from the hospital three weeks ago, officials broadly said that a new era of his papacy was being ushered in, following a harrowing 38-day battle with double pneumonia.
For the first two weeks after his discharge from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on March 23, what exactly Francis’s papacy would look like going forward was largely a mystery, as he settled back into his residence and appeared to be astutely adhering to a doctor-mandated two-month period of rest.
