Pope Francis returned to the Vatican on Sunday, the 23rd of March, after a five-week battle in hospital with double-sided pneumonia, the most serious health crisis of his 12-year papacy. The 88-year-old Pope also made his first public appearance since the 14th of February before being discharged from a Rome hospital, according to Politico and Reuters.
Although the Pope has returned from hospital, doctors said his ageing body will still need “a lot of time” to fully recover.
They have designated another two months for rest at the Vatican and ordered him to avoid large or stressful meetings, and it is unclear how many activities Francis will undertake in the coming months.
Before Pope Francis left the hospital on Sunday, he smiled and waved to well-wishers who chanted his name outside the hospital from the hospital balcony, sitting in a wheelchair. He made a brief, feeble voice thank you to Carmela Vittoria Mancuso, who came to visit him every day.
Pope Francis has made his first public appearance in over a month
He blessed the crowd and spoke to them
He now returns to the Vatican
🇻🇦 pic.twitter.com/BfXOMF7Qks
— Catholic Arena (@CatholicArena) March 23, 2025
He breathed on his own, but later, on the way to the Vatican, a small oxygen hose under his nose in the car helped him breathe.
Francis, who has been Pope since 2013, was initially hospitalised with bronchitis that developed into double-sided pneumonia, caused by what doctors call a “complicated” infection involving various micro-organisms.
During his 38 days in hospital, the Pope suffered four acute episodes of what the Vatican called “respiratory crises”, which consisted of severe coughing fits caused by narrowing of the airways.
Two of these crises were critical when Francis’ life was in danger, Sergio Alfieri, head of the Pope’s medical team, told a press conference on Saturday.
Although Francis is no longer suffering from pneumonia, he is also not completely cured, the doctor said. Alfieri said it would take time for him to recover and be able to use his voice fully after such a long struggle.
Francis is expected to stay at his Vatican residence, the Santa Marta guesthouse, and will be under close medical supervision, possibly even hospice care, according to people familiar with the Vatican’s plans.
In the early days of his illness, Pope Francis decided to stay in office, although advisers wondered whether he should step down to recover. Some feared that his weakened condition would leave him under the control of the Vatican bureaucracy, the Curia, said people briefed on the matter.
ON SUNDAY, THE VATICAN PUBLISHED A SHORT TEXT REPORTEDLY PREPARED BY FRANCIS IN WHICH HE THANKED HIS DOCTORS FOR THEIR “UNTIRING CARE”.
The Pope also used his prepared message to highlight the Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip, calling the humanitarian situation in the region “once again very serious” and in need of “urgent commitment by the conflicting parties” to the ceasefire.
“I call for an immediate cessation of the use of weapons and the courage to resume dialogue so that all hostages can be released, and a final ceasefire can be reached,” he wrote. … “And let us pray together for an end to the wars and for peace, especially in the tormented Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.”