Pope makes surprise appearance during Mass in St. Peter's Square

Pope Francis made a surprise appearance in St. Peter's Square on Sunday morning during a special Jubilee Mass for the sick and health care workers.

The pontiff, who was rolled into the square on a wheelchair, was making his first public appearance at the Vatican since being released from hospital two weeks earlier.

As he made his way to the altar at the square, he waved at the crowd. "Good Sunday to everyone," said the pope. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart."

The pope's voice sounded louder and stronger than when he spoke outside Gemelli hospital on 23 March, the day of his release. He had been battling life-threatening pneumonia during a five-week stay there.

In an Angelus Sunday prayer written by the pope himself and read out by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the pontiff said: "I pray for doctors, nurses and health care workers, who are not always able to work in adequate conditions and are sometimes even victims of aggression."

"Their mission is not easy, and they must be supported and respected. I hope that the necessary resources will be invested in treatment and research, so that health care systems will be inclusive and attentive to the poor and the most fragile."

He also thanked the inmates of Rebibbia women's prison, who had sent him a card wishing him a quick recovery. "I pray for them and for their families," he wrote, before wishing for peace in places affected by war, as well as more aid for Myanmar and Haiti.