Although Cardinal Parolin expressed hope that Pope Francis could meet King Charles of England as previewed, King Charles postponed his visit to the Vatican and Italy to a date to be set. Buckingham Palace stressed, on a March 25 release, that “medical advice suggested Pope Francis would benefit from an extended period of rest and recuperation.”  

Until March 25, the King Charles program still included the audience with Pope Francis and the ecumenical prayer service in the Sistine Chapel, where the King, in his capacity of head of the Church of England, would have joined with Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church. 

However, it was unclear how the program should have been adapted if the Pope was not able to actually meet the King – for instance, by lowering the level of those involved in the prayer service in the Sistine Chapel. King Charles solved the problem, making the decision to postpone the overal visit, which also including parts to Italy.  

The King’s decision, however, shows that Pope Francis convalescence will not be easy, and that Pope Francis will have to consistently reduce his schedule of meetings.  

Pope Francis was discharged from the hospital after more than 40 days of hospitalization. Doctors stressed that he will be in convalescence for about two months. It means that the Pope will not be able to participate in large meetings, while small, private meeting will be considered case by case.  

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, underscored with journalists on March 24 that there is the hope that Pope Francis will be at least able to have a short meeting with King Charles. However, he added that the Pope needs some quiet and that he and the Curia officials will submit to him, for now, only the most important questions.   

 In the end, it seems unlikely that the Pope will participate in large meetings in the short term. However, the Pope might hold very short audiences when needed; for example, when the Pope will receive the credentials of new ambassadors.  

Pope Francis has never stopped working until now, according to the medical bulletins. However, a medical source told CNA that “working” means that the Pope has simply taken care of ordinary business, authorized some appointments, and made some decisions that cannot be made without the Pope’s consent. 

 Cardinal Parolin visited the Pope twice in the hospital, along with Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, the Secretariat of State’s substitute.  

 The two visits included the Pope’s tabella meeting, a regular meeting with the heads of each dicastery. On Feb. 24, for example, Cardinal Parolin also brought the papers regarding beatifications and canonizations, something that the prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints usually does. 

But what about going forward? There are three short-term issues: the management of Holy Week, the management of communication about the Pope’s health, and the management of decisions. 

Holy Week 

It has not yet been decided how the celebrations of Holy Week will be managed. Pope Francis was hospitalized on Ash Wednesday, when he was supposed to preside at the Church of Santa Sabina. 

He was replaced by Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, No. 1 of the Apostolic Penitentiary, the so-called “tribunal of mercy,” which grants absolutions, dispensations, pardons, sanctions, commutations and indulgences. 

Therefore, the choice of Cardinal De Donatis had a particular affinity with the beginning of the Lenten journey. And so it will be for all the other celebrations where the Pope cannot be present during Easter. There is a precedent concerning John Paul II, who could not celebrate the rites of his last Easter in 2005. 

If the Pope cannot celebrate, the master of pontifical ceremonies, Archbishop Diego Ravelli, will indicate who will officiate, based on the specificity of the rite, according to the rotation criterion of the “Papal Chapel.” The Papal Chapel includes the clergy who assist the Bishop of Rome, who participate in his official religious and spiritual activities, starting with the cardinals present in Rome and members of the Vatican City and the dicasteries. 

Given this, we can assume that Cardinal Baldassare Reina, the Pope’s vicar for the Diocese of Rome, will preside over the celebration of Palm Sunday; Cardinal Robert Prevost, prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, could preside over the chrism Mass on the morning of Holy Thursday, when the chrism that will be used during the year in the Diocese of Rome will be blessed.  

Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, could preside at the Mass on Holy Thursday. And Cardinal De Donatis or Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, could preside over the liturgy of Good Friday, and then Cardinal Parolin could celebrate Mass for the Easter vigil and Easter Day. The Urbi et Orbi of Easter Day could be read by the Cardinal Re. 

All celebrations will be held in the name of the Supreme Pontiff and will, therefore, take place exactly as if the Pope were there, including the presence of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See. 

In any case, even if the Pope were to resume celebrating, it would be difficult to believe that he would be present at the traditional Way of the Cross at the Colosseum, where he was not present in 2023 or 2024 precisely to preserve his health in the biting cold. 

Medical Communication 

At the height of the crisis, Pope Francis’ health was monitored through a daily bulletin from doctors and three daily informal communications from the Holy See Press Office. As the Pope improved, the medical bulletins became less frequent, and the informal communications from the Press Office also gradually decreased. Now that the Pope is back home, information is not provided daily.  

Here, too, there is a precedent: the illness of John Paul II in 2005. The crises that led to the death of John Paul II on April 2, 2005, began with his admission to Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 1, 2005. John Paul II left Gemelli on Feb. 10 of that year, returned for an emergency tracheotomy on Feb. 24, and then returned to the Vatican on March 13. 

His public appearances became rarer post-hospitalization. John Paul II’s last public appearance was on March 30, when he greeted 5,000 young people from the Archdiocese of Milan from his window. He tried to speak but could only manage a prolonged sigh. On that day, he was given a nasogastric tube, and on March 31, he developed a urinary tract infection. John Paul II himself, however, decided not to return to the hospital. 

Communication about John Paul II's illness was characterized by reasonably detailed medical bulletins, although less frequently issued than today. When John Paul II could not celebrate Mass on Easter Sunday 2005, a photo of him from behind was released, showing him attending Mass from his apartment in the Apostolic Palace. 

Even during this hospital stay, a photo of the Pope from behind was released.  

The question remains: How will communications be managed if the Pope’s convalescence is prolonged? John Paul II always tried to be visibly present, even in the critical moments of his illness, looking out of the Gemelli window and being seen from the Apostolic Palace apartment as long as he could. With the exception of a single photograph and a brief audio message, Pope Francis was almost invisible during this hospitalization. 

How this choice will impact the life of the Church remains to be seen. 

Decision Management 

Bishops’ appointments, the texts of recently released messages, and all the other recent decisions of the Pope had been completed and scheduled for some time, even before the hospitalization of the Pope. But the publication of a letter from Pope Francis to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on March 18 was a surprise. The letter was dated March 14. The intermediary of the letter was not specified. It was not through Vatican communications. Otherwise, the text would have been published in the Press Office of the Holy See bulletin. 

Who, then, took the initiative to ask the Pope for approval of the letter’s text in his name? 

The question remains open for many other decisions of the Pope. From the diplomatic point of view, the Holy See’s activity continues as usual because those distributed speeches do not require papal approval. At the same time, through the texts of the catechesis and the Angelus, distributed but not pronounced, Pope Francis continues to spread his appeals for peace. 

However, papal diplomacy also relies on the Pope’s opinion. The same applies to the new episcopal provisions, which need to be discussed. Also to be determined: management Carlo Acutis’ canonization on April 27. Canonizations, in fact, invariably require the presence of the Pope. Will Pope Francis find a way to overcome this problem? 

However the Pope is feeling, the Church’s life continues with its ordinary activities. Even during John Paul II's illness in 2005, the Holy See continued to publish nominations, and bishops were also nominated on April 2, the day of his death. 

There is no vice pope in the Church, but there is no power vacuum either.  

Everything carries on.