A rebounding Pope Francis begins Palm Sunday mass at the Vatican

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis opened the celebratory Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Palm Sunday, presiding over his first ceremony after being hospitalized with bronchitis.

On a cloudy morning, Francis wore a long, ivory coat as he was driven into the square aboard a mobile pope. In front of him, dozens of prelates and priests and tens of thousands of rank-and-file worshipers clutching palm fronds or olive branches filled the square.