ROME — After five weeks in the hospital, Pope Francis was released on Sunday following a life threatening battle with pneumonia in both lungs.
The 88-year-old Pontiff appeared on the balcony in a wheelchair as he waved to the gathered crowd and briefly spoke before he made the sign of the cross to the crowd and was taken back into his room.
Francis will now return home to Casa Santa Marta in Vatican City. He will need a another two months of rest once he returns to the Vatican, the head of his medical team said on Saturday and his doctors said it would take “a lot of time” for a full recovery.
Francis has been hospitalized since Feb. 14, the longest of his tenure. The pope’s doctors said Saturday that his life had been in danger on two occasions, but confirmed he has remained stable for two weeks.
The pope had required high-flow oxygen therapy, according to the Vatican.
Over the past five weeks, the Vatican said Francis was still fulfill his duties, despite being severely sick and not in the public eye.
Despite his ongoing health struggles, there has been no indication from the Vatican that Francis intends to resign.
