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“Viva il Papa!� (Long live the pope), “Bravo!� the crowd shouted as Francis looped through the square in his open-topped popemobile and then up and down the main avenue leading to it. He stopped occasionally to bless babies brought up to him, a scene that was common in the past but unthinkable just a few weeks ago as the 88-year-old pope fought for his life.

“Brothers and sisters, Happy Easter!� Francis said, his voice sounding stronger than it has since he was released from the hospital March 23 after a five-week stay.

Francis didn't celebrate the Easter Mass in the piazza, delegating it to Cardinal Angelo Comastri, the retired archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica. But after the Mass ended, Francis appeared on the loggia balcony over the basilica entrance for more than 20 minutes and imparted the apostolic blessing in Latin.

The crowd below, estimated by the Vatican to be more than 35,000, erupted in cheers as a military band kicked off rounds of the Holy See anthem.

In all, Francis was outside on a sunny spring day for around 50 minutes, with temperatures at 70 Fahrenheit in a piazza awash in daffodils, tulips and other flowers donated by the Netherlands for Easter.

“It is excellent, a miracle,� said Margarita Torres Hernandez, a pilgrim from Mexico who was in the square. “Now that he has come out, for me it’s a miracle, it’s something very big, very beautiful.�

On his way to the basilica, Francis met briefly in his hotel with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who was spending Easter in Rome with his family. The Vatican said the encounter lasted just a few minutes and was designed to allow for an exchange of Easter greetings.

Francis, for his part, gave Vance three big chocolate Easter eggs to give to his three young children.

“I know you have not been feeling great but it’s good to see you in better health,� Vance told the pope. “Thank you for seeing me.�

In all, Vance’s motorcade was on Vatican territory for 17 minutes. The vice president later joined his family for Easter Mass at St. Paul Outside the Walls, one of the four pontifical basilicas in Rome. The Vances visited the tomb of the apostle St. Paul that is said to be located there.

Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, and the pope have tangled sharply over migration and the Trump administration’s plans to deport migrants en masse. Francis has made caring for migrants a hallmark of his papacy.

Francis has appeared in public only a handful of times since returning to the Vatican after a 38-day hospital stay. He skipped the solemn services of Good Friday and Holy Saturday leading up to Easter, but he had been expected to make an appearance on Sunday.

Doctors have prescribed two months of convalescence and respiratory therapy to improve his lung function after he came down with a life-threatening case of double pneumonia. He still seems to require great effort to project his voice, and his breathing remains labored. But his voice sounded stronger than it has to date in the few words he uttered from the loggia.

“It was a very touching moment for us (to see the pope)," said Marcin Popowsky, a pilgrim from Poland. "And we are very happy that we can see a pope in good shape.�

Easter is the most joyful moment on the Christian liturgical calendar, when the faithful celebrate the resurrection of Christ after his crucifixion. This year, Easter is being celebrated on the same day by Catholics and Orthodox Christians, and has been marked by Russia's announced temporary Easter truce in its war in Ukraine.

Easter at the Vatican traditionally involves a Mass and the pope’s Urbi et Orbi blessing (Latin for “to the city and the world�), a papal speech delivered from the loggia that is usually a roundup of global hotspots and human suffering.

In the speech, read by Archbishop Diego Ravelli, master of liturgical ceremonies, Francis appealed for peace in Gaza and Ukraine, as well as Congo and Myanmar and in other hotspots. And he made a special appeal for migrants and those affected by violence.

“How much contempt is stirred up at times toward the vulnerable, the marginalized, and migrants!� the message said. “On this day, I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves, or who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas! For all of us are children of God!�

Before Sunday, Francis' biggest outing had been a visit to Rome’s downtown prison to spend Holy Thursday with inmates. The visit made clear his priorities as he slowly recovers: to spend time with the people most on the margins.