Pope Francis, 88, has returned to the Vatican.
After 38 days of hospitalization for an at times critical bout of respiratory illnesses, including pneumonia, the pontiff was released from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Sunday.
Before leaving the facility, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church greeted a crowd of supporters from a small balcony, responding to their cheers with a thumbs up and an expression of gratitude: “Thank you, all.”
“I greet this lady with yellow flowers,” he added, acknowledging Carmela Vittoria Mancuso, a 79-year-old a woman in the crowd who had brought him a bouquet of yellow roses.
She told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that she has lived in Rome for six years and attended many papal events with offerings of flowers: “From the first time, I saw the wonder and the smile in his eyes. ‘Are they for me?’ he asked me.”
The brief remarks represented Francis’s first public appearance since he was hospitalized on February 14.
In recent weeks, his prognosis at times appeared dire and reports circulated that he had told some confidants he did not believe he would survive.
Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the head of the medical team that treated Francis at Gemell, noted that drug therapy and oxygen treatments allowed for a “slow and progressive improvement.”
The pontiff will still require a two-month period of convalescence and rest, according to his medical team.
Earlier in the morning and before his balcony greeting, Francis met with and thanked the hospital staff who had cared for him.
After departing Gemelli in the front passenger seat of a white Fiat 500, the pontiff made a surprise visit to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
According to the Vatican press office, he gave the basilica’s archpriest, Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, flowers to put before the Salus Populi Romani, an icon of the Virgin Mary.
Francis arrived back at the Vatican at approximately 1 p.m. local time.
“Happy to know that Pope Francis is returning to the Vatican,” said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in a social media post. “A special thought and best wishes go to him, with affection and gratitude, for his tireless commitment and his precious guidance.”
“The Romans love Pope Francis and are happy to see him released from the hospital,” said Roberto Gualtieri, Rome’s mayor, in remarks given at the hospital. “It was a truly demanding test and it is very emotional to see him. I am here to bring the affection and closeness of the entire city.”
Cardinal Anders Arborelius, the Archbishop of Stockholm who holds several key appointments at the Holy See, told La Repubblica that, following his illness, he believes Francis will need to find “another way of being Pope.”
“Francis will not be able to travel, he will not be able to attend many meetings,” Arborelius said.
“He will rather be a Pope in prayer, he will live a more hidden, more quiet life. He will have to be less communicative, but he will want to communicate the most important things: his words will have more weight.”
