Pope absent from St Peter’s Square for third week running

 For the third week in a row, Pope Francis has been unable to deliver his traditional Angelus prayer in person, with the Vatican publishing his written comments instead.

The Vatican said the text, sent from his hospital room in Rome, had been written “in the past few days”. In it, the Pope thanked peo­ple for their prayers and thanked his medical team for their care.

“I feel in my heart the ‘blessing’ that is hidden within frailty, because it is precisely in these moments that we learn even more to trust in the Lord,” he wrote.

“At the same time, I thank God for giving me the opportunity to share in body and spirit the condi­tion of so many sick and suffering people.”

The Pope told Catholics around the world that he felt their “affec­tion and closeness”. “I feel as if I am ‘carried’ and supported by all God’s people. Thank you all!” the text reads. —BBC