Pope Francis makes surprise appearance at St. Peter’s Basilica
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(VATICAN CITY) — Pope Francis made a short and unannounced visit Saturday to St. Peter’s Basilica to pray before this evening’s Easter vigil and greet some of the faithful present.
The 88-year-old pontiff, in a wheelchair, arrived at around 6 p.m. local time accompanied by his nurse and stayed for about a quarter hour, stopping to pray at St. Peter’s tomb, the Italian press service Ansa reported.
The pope greeted those in attendance before heading back to his residence.
The Vatican confirmed Pope Francis “went to St. Peter’s Basilica for a time of prayer, to be close to the faithful who will be celebrating the Vigil of the Holy Night of Easter in the next few hours,” a statement read.
This is the pope’s third public appearance during Holy Week. On Thursday, he met with about 70 inmates at a prison in Rome.
“Every year l like to do what Jesus did on Holy Thursday, the washing of the feet, in a prison,” the pope told the attendees, according to a statement from the Vatican. “This year I cannot do it but i wanted to be close to you. I pray for you and all your families.”
The pontiff also appeared at a mass in St. Peter’s Square on Palm Sunday, greeting a crowd of thousands gathered for the service.
Francis has remained mostly out of public view since his release in March from Rome’s Gemelli hospital, where he’d spent more than five weeks after being diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia.
Francis delegated to two cardinals his role in presiding over this weekend’s Easter masses, the Vatican Press Office said on Wednesday.
(ROME) — As Pope Francis begins his 23rd consecutive day in hospital, the Vatican says that his “overall condition remains stable within his complex medical situation and the prognosis remains reserved.”
“The pope had a quiet night,” the Vatican said Saturday morning. “The pope is resting.”
On Friday, the 88-year-old pontiff “spent about 20 minutes in prayer in his chapel on the 10th floor apartment and the rest of the day alternated between rest, physiotherapy, prayer and a bit of work,” the Vatican said.
He continues to use “high-flow oxygen therapy during the day and non-invasive mechanical ventilation at night as he has done these past days,” according to the Vatican.
“The doctors are still maintaining the prognosis as reserved,” the Vatican said.
Francis, who has led the Catholic Church since 2013, was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14 and was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia.
(LONDON and JERUSALEM) — Palestinian Academy Award-winning filmmaker Hamdan Ballal was released from Israeli custody on Tuesday, friend and fellow filmmaker Yuval Abraham said, after Ballal was detained by Israeli security forces on Monday.
The co-director of “No Other Land” was detained by the Israel Police following a confrontation with Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Basel Adra — who shared the recent Oscar win — told ABC News that Ballal is believed to have been injured in what activists said was an attack by settlers on local Palestinian families.
Ballal was released on Tuesday, Abraham wrote on X. The filmmaker “is now free and is about to go home to his family,” he said.
Israel Police confirmed to ABC News that Ballal was among three people released “on conditions that include not contacting other people involved and providing a personal guarantee. The investigation is ongoing and additional arrests are expected.”
In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces said of Monday’s incident, “Several terrorists hurled rocks at Israeli citizens, damaging their vehicles” near Susiya, a village located to the south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
“Following this, a violent confrontation broke out, involving mutual rock-hurling between Palestinians and Israelis at the scene,” the IDF said. “IDF and Israeli Police forces arrived to disperse the confrontation, at this point, several terrorists began hurling rocks at the security forces.”
“In response, the forces apprehended three Palestinians suspected of hurling rocks at them, as well as an Israeli civilian involved in the violent confrontation. The detainees were taken for further questioning by the Israel Police. An Israeli citizen was injured in the incident and was evacuated to receive medical treatment.”
Israel Police confirmed to ABC News in a statement that Ballal was arrested and taken to Kiryat Arba police station. The force said Ballal was under investigation.
“No Other Land,” which won best documentary at this year’s Oscars, details the efforts of the residents of Masafer Yatta to stop the demolition of their villages by the IDF and harassment by Israeli settlers. Both Ballal and Adra are residents of Masafar Yatta.
Nasser Nawaja, a field researcher working for B’Tselem — a human rights organization based in Jerusalem — told ABC News on Monday that he was with Ballal before the filmmaker was arrested.
“For the past month, there have been attacks every single day,” Nawaja said. “The settlers are trying to pressure us to leave Susiya.”
Settler attacks began on Monday morning at around 7:30 a.m. local time, Nawaja said. “We called the Israeli police. When they arrived, they told us, ‘The settlers are allowed to graze here.’ But it’s our private land. It’s our homes.”
At around 6 p.m., Nawaja said the settlers “attacked” local families, throwing stones at a house and trying to “shoot the family’s sheep.”
Activist Anna Lippman told ABC News that she and a group of fellow activists were also attacked by stone-throwing Israeli settlers outside the village of Susiya on Monday evening after they arrived to come to the aid of Ballal.
The incident started at the house of Ballal’s neighbor, Lippman said, before moving on to Ballal’s house.
Adra said he saw two settlers with guns and that most of the attackers were masked.
“Hamdan was just standing there when the settlers came at him too,” Nawaja said. “They destroyed the water tanks. And not long after that, the soldiers arrested him. We haven’t heard anything about him since.”
“Hamdan ran home,” Nawaja added. “He got his wife and children inside, and stood in the doorway to protect them. That’s when the soldiers arrested him. I got close enough to film it. He was blindfolded, handcuffed, and taken away in a military vehicle — along with two other Palestinians.”
“Later, I spoke with Hamdan’s wife,” Nawaja said. “She told me he was beaten. But she’s too afraid to speak to journalists. Another journalist tried, and she said no.”
“He spent years documenting what was happening to us,” Nawaja said. “And now it’s happening to him. And we don’t even know where he is.”
The Israeli military designated Masafer Yatta as a live-fire training zone in the 1980s and ordered residents to be expelled, prompting a 20-year legal battle.
Israel’s Supreme Court upheld the expulsion order in 2022, though approximately 1,000 residents remain in place. Israeli forces regularly move in to demolish homes and other structures. Locals say Israeli settlers have also set up several outposts nearby since the court’s 2022 decision.
Both Ballal and Adra are residents of Masafar Yatta. The film also has two Israeli directors — Abraham and Rachel Szor.
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Ellie Kaufman, Chris Looft and Dragana Jovanovic contributed to this report.
(ROME) — Pope Francis “had a tranquil night and woke shortly after 8 a.m.” on Friday morning, the Vatican said, coming a day after he made his first public comments since being hospitalized on Feb. 14.
The 88-year-old pope “remained stable compared to previous days” and did not have “episodes of respiratory insufficiency” on Thursday, his 21st day in the hospital, the Vatican in its evening update.
While Friday marks his 22nd consecutive day in hospital, the pontiff offered up hope on Thursday in the form of his first public comments since being hospitalized.
“I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers for my health from the Square, I accompany you from here. May God bless you and the Virgin protect you. Thank you,” the pope said in a recorded statement made in Spanish. The statement was played at the start of the rosary in St. Peter’s Square.”
The pope “continued with respiratory and motor physiotherapy with benefit,” the Vatican press office, the Holy See, said Thursday in its evening update. “Hemodynamic parameters and blood tests remained stable. He did not present fever.”
“The doctors are still maintaining the prognosis as reserved,” the Vatican said.
The Vatican said that, “in view of the stability of the clinical picture,” it won’t provide another medical update on the pope until Saturday.
Francis, who has led the Catholic Church since 2013, was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14 and was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia.
