Pope Francis returned home to the Vatican on Sunday and has been prescribed a two-month resting period at Santa Marta. During his stay at Gemelli, he was receiving postal messages of love and support from all around the world. 

Italian Postal Service “Poste Italiane” was flooded with handwritten letters addressed to the Holy Father from the moment of  his admission to hospital. 

Rome’s Central Fiumicino Post Office has been redirecting and sending this correspondence straight to the Vatican witnessing the staggering numbers of human outreach. 

Antonello Chidichimo, head of the sorting centre, gave us a picture of exactly how much mail the post office has been dealing with while the Pope was hospitalized. 

“Recently, since our Holy Father has been hospitalized at the Gemelli Hospital, we have been registering an increase in the volume of correspondence both from home and abroad. Up to a daily maximum of one hundred and fifty kilos. 

Handwritten letters are a disappearing art, so receiving them today is much more intentional and holds deeper meaning, especially when they’re written with little hands. 

Chidichimo of the Italian Postal Service, added, “One of the things we noticed while sorting through this correspondence is that many letters are written by children. So, with some surprise, we imagine that, in general, a young person, a child, would use more advanced technological means. Yet, returning to the use of paper always has a special charm.” 

Chidichimo added, “At the moment we have recorded this increase in volume in mail especially addressed to Pope Francis. Certainly, to wish him a speedy recovery.” 

Another worker said, “With this increase in volume and correspondence addressed to the pope, all operators say they feel great pride and passion.” 

As Pope Francis begins his journey of recovery at Santa Marta, messages of support continue to pour into the Vatican. Post offices all around Rome are keeping up with the high demand to ensure that this simple, yet powerful act of connection remains uninterrupted, allowing expressions of solidarity and love to reach the Holy Father. 

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Adapted by Jacob Stein. Written by Zofia Czubak.

Produced by Alexey Gotovskiy; Camera: Fabio Gonella; Video Editor: Ilaria Chimenti. Special thanks & Credits to Italian Post Office.