The Holy See Press Office has released the first photograph of Pope Francis since his hospitalization on February 14. The image, distributed on Sunday evening, March 16, shows Pope in prayer after concelebrating the Eucharist. He is seated in a wheelchair, dressed in a cassock and stole, looking at the crucifix in the chapel on the tenth floor of Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.

For several days, journalists and the public had been awaiting a glimpse of Pope. The last images of him were taken over a month ago at his Santa Marta residence, where he received members of Spain's Gaudium et Spes Foundation. Since then, apart from medical staff and close collaborators, no one had seen him. However, his voice was heard on March 6 in an audio message played during the Rosary in Saint Peter’s Square, where he thanked the faithful for their prayers.

On the morning of March 16, around 200 children from UNICEF and various Italian groups gathered outside the hospital, bringing flowers and balloons as a symbolic gesture of support. They looked toward the hospital’s tenth floor, hoping for a possible greeting or blessing from Pope.

Despite his ongoing medical treatment, which includes respiratory therapy and physiotherapy, Pope Francis continues his daily routine of prayer, rest, and limited work. According to the Holy See Press Office, he has responded well to physiotherapy but remains in a "complex" clinical condition. While medical updates are now less frequent due to the stable nature of his health, the Vatican continues to provide daily reports to journalists.

Currently, Pope has been in the hospital for over a month, a period he described in his Sunday Angelus reflections as a "trial" that unites him in prayer with other sick and vulnerable individuals.