Pope Francis greeted a large crowd of pilgrims gathered outside Gemelli hospital in Rome in his first public appearance in more than five weeks, before being discharged from the hospital on Sunday.
The pontiff, who is recovering from pneumonia in both lungs, made the brief greeting and blessing from the balcony of his hospital room shortly after the release of the text for his Sunday Angelus.
“Thank you to everyone”, Francis, 88, told the crowd. He then made his way home to Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican City, where he will convalesce for at least two months.
“Our pope is coming back,” one of the pilgrims told Rai news.
The health of Francis, who was admitted to hospital on 14 February and subsequently diagnosed with a respiratory tract infection and double pneumonia, was steadily improving, Sergio Alfieri, a general surgeon at Gemelli hospital, told reporters on Saturday. However, it would still take “a lot of time” for his body to fully heal.
Francis suffered two critical breathing crises in hospital before his doctors declared on 10 March that he was no longer in imminent danger.
In the Angelus, the pope reflected on his “long period” of hospitalisation. “I have had the opportunity to experience the Lord’s patience, which I also see reflected in the tireless care of the doctors and healthcare workers, as well as in the care and hopes of the relatives of the sick,” he said. “This trusting patience, anchored in God’s unfailing love, is indeed necessary in our lives, especially when facing the most difficult and painful situations.”
He expressed his sadness at Israel’s renewed bombing of the Gaza strip and called for an “immediate halt to the weapons and for the courage to resume dialogue, so that all hostages may be released and a final ceasefire reached”, while urging people to pray “for an end to wars and for peace, especially in tormented Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
La Repubblica reported that Francis had insisted he return home, where he will need to continue his recovery and rest. “The hope is that he will soon be able to resume a work schedule,” Alfieri said. However, he cautioned that the pope would not immediately be able to meet groups of people. It remains unclear if an audience with King Charles and Queen Camilla, scheduled for 8 April, will take place.
Despite his health challenges, on some days Francis continued to lead the Vatican from his hospital room, including approving individuals for sainthood and writing a letter to the editor of Corriere della Sera newspaper reiterating his appeal for peace and disarmament.
Francis is prone to lung infections because he developed pleurisy as a young adult and had part of one lung removed while training to be a priest in his native Argentina.
He has suffered ill health in recent years and has often alluded to resigning if bad health prevents him from doing his job. Speculation over an imminent resignation was vehemently dismissed last week by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state.
