Pope Francis will be discharged from hospital tomorrow after a five-week long battle with double pneumonia, doctors say.
The Pontiff was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on February 14 having suffered a severe respiratory crisis at the Vatican.
He was later diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs and said to be in ‘critical condition’ at a number of points as millions across the world prayed for his good health.
But tomorrow, the 88-year-old Pontiff will at last be discharged, doctors who have been treating him said today. He will need at least two months to recover, however, from what has been a serious illness.
News that the Pope will return to the Vatican comes on the same day it was announced that the leader of the Catholic Church is set to make his first public appearance since his hospitalisation.
This morning, the Vatican announced that Francis would greet well-wishers outside the Gemelli Hospital with a wave at around noon on Sunday.
‘Pope Francis intends to wave and offer a blessing from the Agostino Gemelli Hospital in Rome after Angelus prayers,’ the Vatican said.
Following his discharge, the Pope will reportedly need to ‘relearn to speak’ after using oxygen throughout his stay at hospital.
Pope Francis will be discharged from hospital after a long battle with double pneumonia in Rome
The Pope has spent five weeks recovering from a respiratory crisis at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital
‘The Pope is doing very well, but high-flow oxygen dries everything out,’ Cardinal Victor Fernandez, the Vatican’s chief doctrine official said yesterday.
‘He needs to learn how to speak, but his overall physical condition is as it was before.’
Close advisers to the Pontiff said that he was in ‘good humour’ and ‘recovering well’ on Friday evening nevertheless, with Cardinal Pietro Parolin admitting the enamored Pope will ‘need some time’ to recover fully.
Earlier this week, the first photo of the Argentinian Pope since his Valentine’s Day hospitalisation was released.
The photo showed the Pontiff celebrating Holy Mass in the chapel of the tenth floor apartment in Rome where he has been treated.
A statement from the Vatican said: ‘This morning [16 March] Pope Francis concelebrated the Holy Mass in the chapel of the apartment on the 10th floor of the Policlinico Gemelli.’
The Pope’s appearance tomorrow will be the first sighting of him in public for more than five weeks.
The appearance at around noon at the will not be the Pope’s first greeting to the public from the Gemelli Hospital, however.
Doctor Sergio Alferi (pictured), who has been treating the Pontiff, announced today that Francis is set to be discharged from hospital
It was announced earlier today that Francis will greet well-wishers with a wave on Sunday at noon
The first picture of the Pope since his February 14 hospitalisation was released earlier this week
Millions across the world have prayed for the good health of Pope Francis amid a health battle which saw him in ‘critical condition’
A woman is seen in prayer in Vatican City earlier this month. Pope Francis has been hospitalised since February 14, when he was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital
In July 2021, he recited the Angelus prayer from a balcony on the medical institution’s 10th floor following colon surgery.
But he has never previously been hospitalised for this long during his papacy, and while his reappearance will be greeted with relief by followers, questions remain over who might lead the busy schedule of religious events leading up to Easter, a highlight of the Christian calendar.
The Vatican press office said on Wednesday that no definite decisions had yet been taken in that regard, adding that the Pope’s clinical condition was ‘improving’ and he was no longer using an oxygen mask.
A daily bulletin on the health of the Pope has been published by the Vatican throughout his battle in hospital.
Francis had part of one lung removed as a young man and, despite his improvement, speculation abounds that he could step down due to his fragility, following in the footsteps of his predecessor Benedict XVI.
On Monday, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s second-ranking official, told reporters that he had noted an improvement in Francis’s health during a visit.
But asked whether the conversation had turned to the Pope’s resignation, he replied: ‘No, no, no, absolutely not.’
Catholics and others worldwide have been praying for the Pope’s speedy recovery, with many leaving flowers, candles and notes for him outside the Gemelli hospital.
A number of leading cardinals too held prayer services at the Vatican to pray for the Pontiff’s good health, with thousands gathering on a daily basis to recite the Rosary Prayer.
Even as he remained in hospital, the Pope expressed his gratitude for the widespread support he has received.
The Pontiff too continued holding almost nightly phone calls with Palestinian Catholics in Gaza amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
In updates on X posted during his hospital stay, the 88-year-old also wished his best to Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan and Kivu in early March.
