Pope Francis Skips Window Appearance Facing St. Peter’s Square Despite Claiming to Be Doing Better

For a second Sunday, Pope Francis did not appear at his window in St. Peter’s Square, but in televised remarks, he mentioned that he is doing better despite struggling with his voice.

Like the previous week, Francis spoke briefly from the Vatican hotel chapel, where he is recovering from infectious bronchitis. Thousands of people in the square listened to his words from large outdoor screens.

The 87-year-old pope also mentioned that he is keeping track of the U.N. climate conference in Dubai. He was supposed to attend the COP28 conference but was advised by his doctors not to go due to his illness.

During his previous chapel appearance on Nov. 26, he had expressed his intention to make the trip despite being ill. However, he followed medical advice and stayed at the Vatican, receiving intravenous antibiotics.

In his recent remarks, Francis said, “Dear brothers and sisters, good day. Also today, I won’t be able to read everything. I’m getting better, but the voice still isn’t enough to read everything.” A priest then read prepared remarks, including a comment about the Israeli-Hamas war truce.

Expressing his concern about the broken truce, Francis called for the release of hostages seized from Israel in the Hamas attack and lamented the lack of basic necessities in Gaza after Israel’s war against Hamas.

Addressing health care workers on Thursday, Francis revealed that he had been advised against the trip to the United Arab Emirates due to the hot climate. He also expressed gratitude that his illness was not pneumonia but an acute, infectious bronchitis.

Earlier, the Vatican had stated that Francis was suffering from a lung inflammation and the flu. In the spring, he had been hospitalized for three days for acute bronchitis and intravenous antibiotic treatment.

Despite his illness, Francis emphasized his attention to the COP28 conference in Dubai and renewed his appeal for concrete political change in response to climate change.

In his remarks, Francis urged the end of “bottlenecks” caused by nationalism and “patterns of the past,” and he called for a collective commitment to an essential global ecological conversion.

PHOTOS: Pope Francis says he’s doing better but again skips his window appearance facing St. Peter’s Square