Pope Francis appeared in front of a jubilant crowd of well-wishers on his hospital balcony following a extraordinary recovery from double pneumonia.
The 88-year-old has been discharged today from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital after a five week health battle, during which he was said to be in a ‘critical condition’ several times.
The Pontiff was first admitted to hospital in February 14 with a severe respiratory infection that developed into double pneumonia.
Pope Francis was met with cheers of joy this morning as he was rolled out in a wheelchair onto the Gemelli Hospital’s balcony.
The frail leader of the Catholic Church then addressed his followers before returning inside.
He briefly spoke on the 10th-floor papal suite, telling the crowd: ‘Thank you, everyone. I can see a woman with some yellow flowers. How good!’
Soon after Pope Francis left hospital in a white Fiat and headed back to the Vatican.
Doctors are insisting, however, that he now takes at least two months of rest and rehabilitation as he continues recovering.
His personal doctor, Dr Luigi Carbone, said if Francis continues his steady improvements to date, he should be able to resume his normal activity.
Doctors provided details yesterday on the severity of the infection, which the pope is still being treated for, and the two respiratory crises.
‘When he was in really bad shape, it was difficult that he was in good spirits,’ Dr Sergio Alfieri, who co-ordinated Francis’ medical team at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.
‘But one morning we went to listen to his lungs and we asked him how he was doing.
‘When he replied “I’m still alive” we knew he was OK and had gotten his good humour back.’
Dr Alfieri confirmed that Francis was still having trouble speaking due to damage to his lungs and the time he spent on supplemental oxygen and ventilation, but he added that such problems are normal and predicted his voice will return.
‘When you have a bilateral pneumonia, your lungs get damaged and the respiratory muscles are in difficulty. You lose your voice a bit, like when you speak too high,’ Dr Alfieri said.
Francis has only been spotted once since he was admitted, when he was pictured from behind during prayers in a hospital chapel.
But in an update this morning, the Vatican said he plans to come to a window to greet well-wishers and offer a blessing.
The Vatican press office said yesterday that the pope’s overall condition remained stable, with slight improvements as he continues respiratory and physical physiotherapy.
He was continuing to reduce his reliance on high-flow supplemental oxygen he has needed to breathe during the day and no longer needs the mechanical ventilation mask at night.
Two of his closest advisers said Francis has been recovering well.
His chief of staff Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra said he had found Francis in good humour and serene during the three times he has visited the pope.
He visited Francis on February 24, March 2 and March 9, along with the Vatican secretary of state and Francis’s number two, Cardinal Pietro Parolin
‘The pope will recover,’ Pena Parra said on the sidelines of a book launch. ‘The pope is recovering well. The doctors say that he needs some time, but it’s going well progressively.
‘I found him well, serene, in good humour, and — just like him — tough with the desire to go forward.’
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Francis hit the five-week mark in his hospital stay on Friday.
He was admitted last month with a bad case of bronchitis that developed into a complex lung infection and double pneumonia.
The Argentine has long battled respiratory illnesses and had part of one lung removed when he was a young man.
He has admitted to being a bad patient and is a known workaholic.
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