A recovering Pope Francis visits Rome prison to keep annual Holy Week appointment

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis visited Rome's central prison Thursday and met with dozens of inmates as he kept an Easter season appointment to spend Holy Thursday among the least fortunate, even as he continues recovering from a life-threatening bout of pneumonia.

Francis met for nearly a half-hour with some 70 inmates at the Regina Caeli prison in Rome’s Trastevere neighborhood. It’s a prison Francis has visited before to perform the annual Holy Thursday ritual of washing the feet of 12 people to re-enact Christ’s gesture of humble service of washing the feet of 12 apostles before his crucifixion.

Francis told the inmates he couldn’t do it this year, given his health, but wanted to nevertheless be with them and “do what Jesus did on Holy Thursday."

The fact that the 88-year-old pope kept the appointment, when he is under doctors’ orders to take it easy and avoid crowds, was a clear sign of the importance he places on prison ministry and the need for priests to serve those most on the margins. That is all the more true during the 2025 Holy Year, which both opened and will close with special papal events for prison inmates.

“Every time I enter one of these places, I ask myself: ‘Why them and not me?’” Francis told reporters outside the prison in his first off-the-cuff comments since he got sick.

Francis is expected to make at least some other Easter-time appearances over the coming days, even as cardinals will preside in his place during Holy Week's busy events. He made a surprise cameo at the end of Palm Sunday Mass last weekend and in recent days has made some unannounced visits — including one in which he wasn’t dressed in his papal white cassock — to pray in St. Peter’s Basilica and St. Mary Major basilica across town.

By all indications he is continuing to improve after his five-week hospital stay and is slowly resuming some of his normal activities. In recent outings, including on Thursday, he has been seen without the nasal tubes that provide supplemental oxygen and Vatican officials say he is increasingly less reliant on the therapy.

Asked Thursday how he was doing and marking this year's Easter season, Francis said in a weak voice: “I am living it as I can.”

On Wednesday, Francis held his first formal group audience since returning to the Vatican on March 23, meeting with the medical staff of the Gemelli hospital who cared for him during his 38-day stay. Gathered in a Vatican audience hall, Francis thanked the 70-plus doctors, nurses and administrators and asked them for their continued prayers.

“Thank you for everything you did,” Francis said, his voice still labored but seemingly stronger as he continues respiratory and physical therapy.

Francis has delegated the demanding Holy Week liturgical celebrations to hand-picked cardinals, but the Vatican says the pope himself composed the meditations that will be read aloud by others during the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession on Friday night at Rome’s Colosseum.

Easter Sunday Mass has been assigned to the retired administrator of St. Peter’s, Cardinal Angelo Comastri.

It remains to be seen how Francis will handle Easter Sunday’s traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (Latin for “to the city and the world”) speech and blessing after Mass. Normally the pope delivers a sometimes lengthy discourse on the state of the world from the loggia of St. Peter’s, and then imparts a special blessing to the faithful in the piazza below. In theory someone else could read the speech while Francis could impart the blessing.

Francis was admitted to Gemelli on Feb. 14 with bronchitis that quickly developed into a life-threatening case of double pneumonia. Upon his release March 23, doctors prescribed two months of convalescence at the Vatican with daily respiratory and physical therapy to improve his breathing and vocal function. With time, they have predicted he will be able to resume his normal activities.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Pope Francis leaves in a car at the end of his visit on Holy Thursday to the Regina Coeli penitentiary in Rome, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Cardinal Mauro Gambetti presides over a mass inside St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican on Holy Thursday to commemorate Christ¥s Last Supper before his crucifixion, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis meets with inmates during his visit to the Regina Coeli penitentiary in Rome on Holy Thursday, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Holy See Press Office via AP, HO)

Pope Francis waves at inmates behind a closed gate during his visit to the Regina Coeli penitentiary in Rome on Holy Thursday, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Vatican Media via AP, HO)

Cardinals attend the Chrism Mass presided over by Delegate of the Holy Father Cardinal Domenico Calcagno inside St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, April 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Francis meets with inmates during his visit to the Regina Coeli penitentiary in Rome on Holy Thursday, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Vatican Media via AP, HO)

Pope Francis leaves in a car at the end of his visit on Holy Thursday to the Regina Coeli penitentiary in Rome, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Francis talks to journalists as he leaves at the end of his visit to the Regina Coeli penitentiary in Rome on Holy Thursday, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

A car with Pope Francis enters the Regina Coeli penitentiary in Rome on Holy Thursday, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

A car with Pope Francis enters the Regina Coeli penitentiary in Rome on Holy Thursday, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Cardinals attend the Chrism Mass presided over by Delegate of the Holy Father, Cardinal Domenico Calcagno, inside St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican, Thursday, April 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Prelates attend the Chrism Mass presided over by Delegate of the Holy Father, Cardinal Domenico Calcagno, inside St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican, Thursday, April 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Prelates attend the Chrism Mass presided over by Delegate of the Holy Father, Cardinal Domenico Calcagno, inside St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican, Thursday, April 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Delegate of the Holy Father, Cardinal Domenico Calcagno, presides over the Chrism Mass inside St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican, Thursday, April. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Delegate of the Holy Father, Cardinal Domenico Calcagno presides over the Chrism Mass inside St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Cardinals attend the Chrism Mass presided over by Delegate of the Holy Father, Cardinal Domenico Calcagno, inside St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican, Thursday, April 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Cardinals attend the Chrism Mass presided over by Delegate of the Holy Father, Cardinal Domenico Calcagno, inside St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican, Thursday, April. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

A Swiss Guard attends the Chrism Mass presided over by Delegate of the Holy Father, Cardinal Domenico Calcagno, inside St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican, Thursday, April 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Delegate of the Holy Father, Cardinal Domenico Calcagno, center, blows inside an amphora containing holy oil during a Chrism Mass inside St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Delegate of the Holy Father, Cardinal Domenico Calcagno, presides over the Chrism Mass inside St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican, Thursday, April. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Cardinals attend the Chrism Mass on Ash presided by Delegate of the Holy Father, Cardinal Domenico Calcagno at the St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican, Thursday, April. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Cardinals attend the Chrism Mass on Ash presided by Delegate of the Holy Father, Cardinal Domenico Calcagno at the St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican, Thursday, April. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

A Swiss Guard attends the Chrism Mass on Ash presided by Delegate of the Holy Father, Cardinal Domenico Calcagno at the St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican, Thursday, April. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Delegate of the Holy Father, Cardinal Domenico Calcagno presides over the Chrism Mass on Ash St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican, Thursday, April. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Francis arrives at the end of the mass on Palm Sunday in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Francis arrives at the end of the mass on Palm Sunday in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis arrives at the end of the mass on Palm Sunday in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis arrives at the end of the mass on Palm Sunday in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis arrives at the end of the mass on Palm Sunday in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis arrives at the end of the mass on Palm Sunday in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A person of interest detained after a Brown University shooting that killed two students and injured nine will be released after an investigation took law enforcement authorities in a “different direction,” officials said Sunday night.

The disclosure, made at a hastily convened late night news conference, represents a stunning turn of events in an investigation into killings that rattled the Ivy League campus and came more than 12 hours after officials had announced that they had taken a person into custody in connection with the attack.

The release means that whoever is responsible for the killing may remain at large.

“We know that this is likely to cause fresh anxiety for our community,” Mayor Brett Smiley said.

The attack Saturday afternoon set off hours of chaos across campus and surrounding Providence neighborhoods as hundreds of officers searched for the shooter and urged students and staff to shelter in place. The lockdown, which stretched into the night, was lifted early Sunday, but authorities had not yet released information about a potential motive.

On Sunday morning, officials took a person into custody that two people familiar with the matter identified as a 24-year-old man from Wisconsin. That individual, whose name was never released by authorities, is now being released.

"I’ve been around long enough to know that sometimes you head in one direction and then you have to regroup and go in another and that’s exactly what has happened over the last 24 hours or so,” said Attorney General Peter Neronha.

Col. Oscar Perez, the Providence police chief, said Sunday afternoon that no one has been charged yet. Perez, who also said no one else was being sought, declined to say whether the detained person had any connection to Brown.

The person was taken into custody at a Hampton Inn hotel in Coventry, Rhode Island, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Providence, where police officers and FBI agents remained Sunday, blocking off a hallway with crime scene tape as they searched the area.

The shooting occurred during one of the busiest moments of the academic calendar, as final exams were underway. Brown canceled all remaining classes, exams, papers and projects for the semester and told students they could leave campus, underscoring the scale of the disruption and the gravity of the attack.

As police scoured the area for the shooter, many students remained barricaded in rooms while others hid behind furniture and bookshelves. One video showed students in a library shaking and wincing as they heard loud bangs just before police entered the room to clear the building.

University President Christina Paxson teared up while describing her conversations with students both on campus and in the hospital.

“They are amazing and they’re supporting each other,” she said at a news conference. “There’s just a lot of gratitude.”

The gunman opened fire inside a classroom in the engineering building, firing more than 40 rounds from a 9 mm handgun, a law enforcement official told AP. Two handguns were recovered when the person of interest was taken into custody and authorities also found two loaded 30-round magazines, the official said. One of the firearms was equipped with a laser sight that projects a dot to aid in targeting, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity.

One student of the nine wounded students had been released from the hospital, said Paxson. Seven others were in critical but stable condition, and one was in critical condition.

Durham Academy, a private K-12 school in Durham, North Carolina, confirmed that a recent graduate, Kendall Turner, was critically wounded. The school said her parents were with her.

“Our school community is rallying around Kendall, her classmates, and her loved ones, and we will continue to offer our full support in the days ahead,” the school said.

On Sunday evening, city leaders, residents and others gathered at a park to honor the victims. The event originally was scheduled as a Christmas tree and Hanukkah menorah lighting.

“For those who know at least bit of the Hanukkah story, it is quite clear that if we can come together as a community to shine a little bit of light tonight, there’s nothing better that we can be doing,” Mayor Brett Smiley said at a news conference earlier in the day.

Smiley said he visited some wounded students and was inspired by their courage, hope and gratitude. One told him that active shooting drills done in high school proved helpful.

“The resilience that these survivors showed and shared with me, is frankly pretty overwhelming,” he said.

Investigators were not immediately sure how the shooter got inside the first-floor classroom at the Barus & Holley building, a seven-story complex that houses the School of Engineering and physics department. The building includes more than 100 laboratories, dozens of classrooms and offices, according to the university’s website.

Engineering design exams were underway. Outer doors of the building were unlocked but rooms being used for final exams required badge access, Smiley said.

Emma Ferraro, a chemical engineering student, was in the lobby working on a final project when she heard loud pops. Once she realized they were gunshots, she darted for the door and into a nearby building where she waited for hours.

Surveillance video released by police showed a suspect, dressed in black, walking from the scene.

Eva Erickson, a doctoral candidate who was the runner-up earlier this year on the CBS reality competition show “Survivor,” said she left her lab in the engineering building 15 minutes before shots rang out.

The engineering and thermal science student shared candid moments on “Survivor” as the show’s first openly autistic contestant. She was locked down in the campus gym following the shooting and shared on social media that the only other member of her lab who was present was safely evacuated.

Brown senior biochemistry student Alex Bruce was working on a final research project in his dorm across the street from the building when he heard sirens outside.

“I’m just in here shaking,” he said, watching through the window as officers surrounded his dorm.

Brown, the seventh-oldest higher education institution in the U.S., is one of the nation’s most prestigious colleges, with roughly 7,300 undergraduates and more than 3,000 graduate students.

Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Contributing were Associated Press journalists Jennifer McDermott in Providence; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and Alanna Durkin Richer, Mike Balsamo and Eric Tucker in Washington, D.C.

Passers-by walk past crime scene tape at an entrance to Brown University, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Providence, R.I., following the Saturday, Dec. 13, shooting at the university. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A bouquet of flowers rests on snow, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, on the campus of Brown University not far from where a shooting took place, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A pedestrian walks across the intersection of Waterman St. and Hope St. Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, after a shooting on Saturday in Providence, R.I. (Lily Speredelozzi/The Sun Chronicle via AP)

Pedestrians walk past and glance at the scene of a shooting at Brown University Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, after a shooting on Saturday in Providence, R.I. (Lily Speredelozzi/The Sun Chronicle via AP)

Police caution tape lays askew at Brown University's Ittleson Quad Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, after a shooting on Saturday in Providence, R.I. (Lily Speredelozzi/The Sun Chronicle via AP)

Police tape off hotel rooms where the person of interest was arrested in a shooting in Coventry, RI., (AP Photo/Kimberlee Kruesi)

Police tape off hotel rooms where the person of interest was arrested in a shooting in Coventry, RI., (AP Photo/Kimberlee Kruesi)

A police officer hangs yellow crime tape at Brown University in Providence, R.I., on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, during the investigation of a shooting. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

Emergency personnel gather on Waterman Street at Brown University in Providence, R.I., on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, during the investigation of a shooting. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)

Police vehicles rest in intersections in a neighborhood near Brown University, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Providence, R.I., following a shooting at the university Saturday, Dec. 13. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A police vehicle rests at an intersection near crime scene tape at Brown University, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Providence, R.I., following a Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025 shooting at the university. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Mayor Brett Smiley speaks to reporters during a Brown University news conference, in Providence, R. I., Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Kimberlee Kruesi)

Law enforcement officials carry rifles while walking on a street in a neighborhood near Brown University in Providence, R.I., on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025 during the investigation of a shooting. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Brown University President Christina H. Paxson attends a news conference addressing the investigation following a shooting on Brown University's campus Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (Lily Speredelozzi/The Sun Chronicle via AP)

Students are escorted by law enforcement officers to a building at Brown University after a shooting, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Providence, R.I.. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Law enforcement officials carrying weapons gather near Brown University in Providence, R.I., on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, during the investigation of a shooting. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A law enforcement official walks past articles of clothing on a sidewalk near an entrance to Brown University, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Providence, R.I., during the investigation of a shooting. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)