Pope Francis speaks on Easter Sunday despite worries about his deteriorating health.

A powerful plea for peace was made by the pope, who said, “Let us not yield to the logic of weapons and rearming.” Arms are never used to make peace; instead, open hearts and outstretched hands do.

Pope Francis waved to the masses gathering for Easter services on Sunday from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, seeming well and cheerful.

The pope has been battling bronchitis, the flu, and colds for the past three months, making frequent trips to the hospital to have his lungs checked. He frequently cancels private audiences and asks his assistants to read him speech excerpts due to respiratory issues and a persistent cough.

To the amazement and worry of the devout, Francis stood silently over St. Peter’s Square for a few minutes on Palm Sunday last week rather than delivering the usual sermon.

Easter week is therefore the most significant week in the Catholic calendar, but it has also served as a gauge of Pope Francis’ health this year. The pope’s voice was a little raspy at points when he delivered his Urbi et Orbi message, which is the customary papal blessing and word to the world. However, it was better than it has been in the previous weeks. He did not stop talking or cough.

The pope strongly advocated for world peace during his speech, focusing on Gaza and Ukraine in particular. Following his statement, which prayed for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, increased humanitarian aid, and the release of all hostages held on October 7, he stated, “May the risen Christ open a path of peace for the war-torn peoples of those regions.”

Francis remarked, “Let us not submit to the logic of weapons and rearming.” “Outstretched hands and open hearts, not weapons, are the tools of peacemaking.”

The pope’s Easter message traditionally focuses on world affairs, and he mentioned other flashpoints, including Ukraine, Syria, Lebanon, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Haiti, Myanmar, Sudan, the Sahel and Horn of Africa regions, Congo and Mozambique.

“Let us not allow the strengthening winds of war to blow on Europe and the Mediterranean,” the pope said, urging people to restrain the spread of violence outside of the current theaters of conflict. This comes in the wake of an ISIS-claimed terror attack in Moscow and growing hostilities along Israel’s border with Lebanon.

Following the liturgy, Francis greeted people in the square and on the avenue that led from St. Peter’s to the River Tiber by riding his open-topped popemobile. According to the Vatican, roughly 60,000 people attended.

The speech, which was given without incident or more signs of illness, has supported the opinions of many who have minimized the importance of earlier occurrences.

“The pope’s decision to forgo the Palm Sunday homily appears to be a spiritual decision, not more,” NBC News contributor and Vatican analyst Deborah Castellano Lubov stated. “Anyone following Pope Francis over these years can see that he makes decisions independently of other people’s opinions or directives.”

Ahead of the pope’s Easter speech on Sunday, Lubov stated, “Concerns that it could be something more worrying didn’t seem to have great foundations, as Pope Francis certainly seemed to be able to recite his appeals at the end of the Mass and circle around afterward greeting the enthusiastic crowds in St. Peter’s Square, before kicking off a grueling Holy Week at full speed.” He presided over the Easter vigil on Saturday night, which went off without a hitch.

Following protocol, the pope bathed the feet of twelve female prisoners at the Rebibbia jail on the outskirts of Rome on Holy Thursday. This custom is meant to commemorate Jesus Christ washing his disciples’ feet the night before he died.

He was compelled to use a wheelchair due to his mobility issues, yet he was still committed to upholding the custom. On Holy Thursday, he also made history by being the first pope to ever wash the feet of just women.

However, the Vatican abruptly declared on Good Friday that the pope will skip the Colosseum’s Way of the Cross in order “to preserve his health” for the Vigil on Saturday and Easter Sunday Mass. The Vatican said that the pope would watch the event from Casa Santa Marta, his home, leaving the white seat at the Colosseum unoccupied for him.

The pope has omitted the Way of the Cross for the past two years. He didn’t go last year since he had just been released from the hospital a few days prior, following intravenous antibiotic treatment for bronchitis. Although he gave many days’ warning for his absence last year, the abrupt cancelation this year aroused questions all over again.

When the pope was sent to the hospital in 2021 to have a portion of his intestines removed, worries about his deteriorating health first surfaced. Then, in June 2023, he was admitted once more for stomach surgery to remove internal scar tissue—this time without the Vatican’s previous knowledge.

His sciatica and excruciating knee pain made his mobility issues worse during the past 12 months. He started off using a cane and has recently switched to utilizing a wheelchair. In November, he pulled out three days before a scheduled trip to Dubai to attend COP28 due to a persistent lung inflammation.

Given his deteriorating health, there has been much conjecture about the pope’s potential retirement, similar to that of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, in 2013. However, the pope stated in his recently released autobiography, “Life: My Story Through History,” that there is, at least for the time being, “no risk” of him quitting. “I believe the pope’s ministry is for life.” Francis wrote. “I therefore see no justification for giving it up.”