VATICAN (CNS): As Pope Francis continues his recovery at the Vatican, he is very slowly beginning to get back to his old routine of meeting with top Vatican officials, the Vatican press office said.
In addition to working with his secretaries, he met with Pietro Cardinal Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, on April 7, the press office said in a briefing with reporters on April 8.
The pope is also in contact with other dicasteries by phone and goes over the texts and documents he receives from them, it added. His regular phone calls to Holy Family parish in Gaza, which were sporadic during his hospitalisation, continue.
A Vatican source said the pope’s appearance on April 6, when he appeared in St. Peter’s Square at the end of the closing Mass of the Jubilee of the Sick and Health Care Workers, still fit within his doctors’ recommendations, as the moment was very brief, it was outdoors and he greeted just a few people. A period of convalescence means being more careful about certain things and that was being respected, the source said.
The apparent difficulty the pope has in raising his arms, such as when he blessed or greeted the crowds in his last two public appearances is due to his long hospitalization and subsequent reduced mobility, the source added. The pope is undergoing physical therapy meant to increase and improve all aspects of his mobility.
After concelebrating Mass with his secretaries each day, the pope spends “a good part” of his morning doing his physical therapy and respiratory therapy. The rest of the day is dedicated to prayer and working.
