Pope Francis makes brief appearance at Easter mass to cheering crowds

Pope Francis, who is recovering from a severe bout of pneumonia, marked Easter Sunday by blessing thousands of people who had gathered for mass in St Peter's Square and then embarked on a surprise popemobile tour around the piazza.

- Sam Jones

The 88-year-old pontiff, who nearly died during his recent five-week stay at Rome's Gemelli hospital, did not celebrate mass in the square, delegating the service instead to Cardinal Angelo Comastri, the retired archpriest of St Peter's Basilica.

When mass ended, Francis appeared on the loggia balcony over the basilica entrance, prompting huge cheers.

"Brothers and sisters, happy Easter!" he said, his voice sounding stronger than it has for weeks.

The crowd, who responded with chants of "Viva il Papa!" or "Long live the Pope!" and "Bravo!", were delighted when 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 unthinkable just a few weeks ago when he was fighting for his life.

"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."

Marcin Popowsky, a pilgrim from Poland, said he had been touched to see the pope: "We're very happy that we can see a pope in good shape."