Vatican-Released Photo of Hospitalized ‘Pope’ Francis Hides Most of His Face

Bergoglio after one month at Gemelli Hospital…

Vatican-Released Photo of Hospitalized ‘Pope’ Francis Hides Most of His Face

The Vatican released this photo of ‘Pope’ Francis on Mar. 16, 2025
(Photo by Holy See Press Office via Vatican Pool/Getty Images; rights-managed)

On March 16, 2025, the Vatican Press Office finally released a photo of ‘Pope’ Francis at the hospital to reassure the world that he is indeed still alive and more or less able to function within the limits of his medical condition:

• First photo of Pope Francis since entering hospital (Catholic News Agency)
• First photo of Pope Francis published in over four weeks (Katholisch.de)
• Pope Francis concelebrates Mass in the private chapel of Gemelli Hospital (Vatican News)

Just how reassuring the image is, is another question.

Certainly, it does show Jorge Bergoglio at his private chapel at the Gemelli Polyclinic, but what is immediately evident is that great care was taken not to show his face. That’s unfortunate since the face is what is usually most associated with the notion of a person’s picture. Instead, what we see is an angled shot from the side or from behind, with his profile barely visible at all. His right hand, resting on his lap, is severely swollen, so perhaps there is swelling also in the face and they don’t want to show that.

Commenting on this photo, the Italian Il Messaggero quotes infectious disease specialist Dr. Matteo Bassetti: “It looks as if he has aged at least five years in a month”, he reportedly said. Since so little of the patient can actually be seen, it is surprising that the doctor could give this assessment.

According to Vatican News, the photo was taken on Sunday just after Francis had finished concelebrating the Eucharistic worship service: “In the photo of Pope Francis taken from behind him, he is seated in a wheelchair, wearing an alb and stole after concelebrating Mass. The photo shows him looking at the crucifix on the altar of the chapel on the tenth floor of the hospital…”, writes Salvatore Cernuzio. It is not clear why the there would be flowers in front of the altar during Lent, but it’s the Novus Ordo liturgy we’re talking about, so anything is possible.

The last time ‘Pope’ Francis had appeared in public was on Feb. 14, 2025, the day he was admitted to the hospital. Since then, despite almost daily official medical bulletins informing the public about Bergoglio’s condition — notably that he frequently engages in work while hospitalized, there have only been two attempts at proving he is still alive: one a brief audio recording issued on Mar. 6, and the other the photo released on Mar. 16. No video has been made available, nor has the ‘Pope’ appeared on the balcony of his hospital suite (or at least the window of his room) to greet or at least wave to the people praying for him down below, as he did on July 11, 2021, for example, during a 10-day stay at the clinic.

La Croix International reports:

Aside from the photo and a poor-quality audio message broadcast on March 6 to those who came to pray in St. Peter’s Square, no video footage has been released. At the Vatican, they invoke respect for privacy. “I find this request indecent,” confided an annoyed Curia member. “What do we want to see? A sign of life, or photos like those taken by Pius XII’s doctor?” Dr. Riccardo Galeazzi-Lisi, the personal physician of the Italian pope, sold photos of his agony in October 1958, which were purchased by Paris Match, a French-language weekly gossip magazine.

(Mikael Corre, “The Pope’s Image”, La Croix International, Mar. 17, 2025)

What most people will be interesed in, probably, is simply proof of life. It would be so easy to give that proof, but instead they publish an ambiguous recording and a photo in which Francis’ face is almost entirely hidden.

Knowing whether Bergoglio is dead or alive, or perhaps alive but incapacitated, is not simply a matter of morbid curiosity. After all, Francis is the de facto (at least) monarch of Vatican City and the head of the Vatican II Church. As soon as he dies, all major curial offices fall vacant, and the sede vacante protocol is automatically activated, forcing governing operations to a bare minimum and triggering preparations for a conclave.

In any case, the photo of Francis released by the Vatican is reminiscent of the way ‘Pope’ John Paul II (r. 1978-2005) was shown in video and still shots on Good Friday, Mar. 25, 2005, about a week before he died. He could not participate on-site at the Roman Colosseum for the Stations of the Cross, so he instead participated from his private chapel at the Vatican; but people were shocked that his face was never shown, leading to speculation about the severity of his condition.

“He didn’t speak, and his face was never seen”, AP’s Nicole Winfield reported at the time. “The Vatican offered no explanation”, Ian Fisher added for the New York Times.

Here is a sample image of how John Paul II was shown that day, followed by a close-up of the detail:

(Photo by Eric VANDEVILLE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images; rights-managed)

Notice the similarity with the Francis picture. In both cases, the ‘Pope’ is shown seated in front of an altar, somewhat hunched over, wearing a stole. In both cases the most important part of the man — the face — is deliberately kept hidden. The shot is angled in such a way that only the profile’s bare minimum is visible.

Why?