Pope Francis makes his first public appearance and is discharged from the hospital

Pope Francis was discharged from the hospital Sunday after making a brief public appearance for the first time in more than five weeks, waving to a crowd from his window at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital where he had been hospitalized with pneumonia in both lungs.

The pontiff, 88, smiled and greeted the cheering crowds waiting outside for a glimpse at the leader of the Catholic Church, who appeared on the balcony in a wheelchair, which he has used for several years.

“Thank you all,” he said into a microphone, before waving again.

Francis appeared to make the sign of the cross to the crowd before he was taken back into his room.

Minutes later, he could be seen waving from the back seat of a car as a convoy left the hospital. On his way back to the Vatican, the Pope stopped in the center of Rome to pray at the Papal Basilica, before arriving at the Vatican.

The Pope did not offer his usual weekly prayer, but the Vatican released a text prepared by the Pontiff Sunday.

“In this long period of hospitalization, I have had the opportunity to experience the patience of the Lord,” Francis said in the statement, “which I also see reflected in the tireless care of doctors and healthcare workers, as well as in the devotion and hopes of the families of the sick.”

For the remainder of the text, the pope addressed some of the world’s conflicts, welcoming a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and saying he was saddened by “the resumption of heavy Israeli bombing on the Gaza Strip.”

During his hospitalization, Francis had continued his practice of near-nightly calls to the Catholic parish in the war-torn enclave.

He is expected to return home to Casa Santa Marta in Vatican City. Francis will need a further two months of rest once he returns to the Vatican, the head of his medical team said Saturday, and his doctors said it would take “a lot of time” for his aging body to fully heal.

Francis has been hospitalized since Feb. 14, the longest stretch of his tenure. Addressing reporters outside the hospital in Rome on Saturday, the pope’s doctors said his life had been in danger on two occasions, but confirmed he has remained stable for at least two weeks.

At times, the pope had required high-flow oxygen therapy, according to the Vatican, and his changing health status captivated the world’s attention.

He has been seen by the public just once since his admission to the hospital, in a photo shared by the Vatican earlier in March showing Francis praying in the hospital’s chapel.

Throughout his illness, the Vatican has maintained that Pope Francis has continued to fulfill his duties, despite staying out of the public eye.

Notably, he missed the Catholic Church’s jubilee celebration, a significant tradition held every 50 years for the remission of sins, known as the Holy Year.

Despite his ongoing health struggles, there has been no indication from the Vatican that the pope intends to resign.

This recent hospitalization isn’t Pope Francis’ first serious health challenge. In 2021, he underwent surgery for diverticulitis, a gastrointestinal condition, and again in 2023 for a hernia.

Before his hospitalization, the pope was seen with his arm in a sling, which the Vatican explained was the result of a fall.