Pope Francis returns to Vatican after 5 weeks in hospital

Pope Francis will return to his residence in the Vatican on Sunday, March 23, 2025, after his doctors said that was the best place for him to recover following a five-week hospitalisation for pneumonia.

The 88-year-old head of the Catholic Church was “very happy” to hear his health had improved sufficiently for him to leave the Gemelli Hospital in Rome, one of the doctors, Sergio Alfieri, said on Saturday.

But the pontiff, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, still faced a recovery period of “at least two months”, Alfieri cautioned.

Pope Francis was expected to be discharged from the hospital in the early afternoon.

The Vatican said he was to make a blessing and wave at well-wishers outside the hospital shortly beforehand, just after midday (1100 GMT), in what would be his first public appearance since February 14.

His hospitalisation since that date was the longest of the pope’s reign, and the fourth since his election in 2013.

The increasingly fragile state of his health has spurred speculation about whether Francis could opt to step down and make way for a successor, as his predecessor Benedict XVI had done.

The pope’s doctors, speaking to reporters at Gemelli Hospital on Saturday, said Francis was doing better.

The Vatican on Wednesday had said he was now breathing without having to use an oxygen mask.

Trump picks Boeing over Lockheed for fighter jet contract

But Alfieri said: “Further progress will take place at his home, because a hospital – even if this seems strange – is the worst place to recover because it’s where one can contract more infections.”

The doctor said that, on Sunday, “the pope will leave and return to Saint Martha’s House” in the Vatican, where Francis has his residential suite.

However, Alfieri dismissed the possibility of Francis quickly getting back to his regular duties.

“Convalescence, by definition, is a period of rest. So it is clear that during the convalescence period he will not be able to take on his daily usual appointments,” the doctor said.

Questions therefore remain over who might lead the busy schedule of religious events leading up to Easter – the holiest period in the Christian calendar, AFP reported.

The pope has missed the Angelus prayers – normally recited by the pontiff every Sunday – for five straight weeks.

On Monday, asked by reporters about the speculation of Francis resigning, Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin replied: “No, no, no, absolutely not.”

The Star