I know that many children are praying for me; some of them came here today to Gemelli as a sign of closeness,’’ the pontiff said in the Angelus text prepared for the traditional prayer but not delivered live again.

The release of the photo a month into his treatment came after dozens of young people gathered under the pontiff’s windows to offer wishes for a quick recovery.

Dozens of children toting yellow and white balloons gathered outside Rome’s Gemelli hospital to greet Pope Francis on his fifth Sunday hospitalized with double pneumonia. While the pope did not