A weak and fragile pope François left the hospital on Sunday after having survived an episode of fatal pneumonia of five weeks, giving a boost to a worshiped crowd and taking a detour to go and pray in a church in the region of Rome before returning home to the Vatican.
A procession carrying the 88 -year -old pope made his way through the light traffic of Rome on Sunday morning and continued after reaching the city of Vatican, where crowds of people had aligned the streets to accommodate him at his home.
Francis arrived later through the city of the St. Mary Major basilica, where he will often pray. Before leaving the Gemelli hospital, Francis gave a boost and recognized the crowd after being released on the balcony overlooking the main entrance.
“I see this woman with yellow flowers. Brava!” A tired and swollen Francis said. He gave a weak sign of the cross before being returned inside.
Songs of “Viva Il Dad!” And “Papa Francesco” broke out of the crowd, which included patients who had been rolled out just to catch his brief appearance.
His blessing came before starting a period of rest and convalescence of two months. People also gathered on Saint-Pierre Place at the Vatican a brilliant Sunday morning to see the pontiff on the big television screens.
Doctors, who announced his release scheduled for Saturday evening, said he should refrain from meeting large groups of people or to practice, but that he should ultimately be able to resume all his normal activities.
His return home, after the longest hospitalization of his 12 -year papacy and the second longer in recent papal history, brought a tangible relief to the Vatican and to the Catholic faithful who impatiently followed 38 days of high and medical.
“Today, I feel a great joy,” said Dr. Rossella Russomando, a salt doctor who did not treat Francis but was in Gemelli on Sunday. “This is the demonstration that all our prayers, all the prayers of the rosary around the world, brought this grace.”
Access to additional oxygen at home
No special arrangement was taken at the Domus Santa Marta, the Vatican hotel next to the Basilica where Francis lives in a two -room suite on the second floor.
The Pope will have access to additional oxygen and medical care 24 hours a day if necessary, although his personal doctor, Dr. Luigi Carbon, said that he hoped that Francis would gradually need less and less breathable aid as his lungs are restored.
Although pneumonia infection has been successfully treated, Francis will continue to take oral drugs for a while to treat fungal infection in his lungs and continue his respiratory and physical physiotherapy.
“For three or four days, he asked when he can go home, so he is very happy,” said Carbon.
The Pope, who suffers from a chronic pulmonary disease and was part of a lung removed as a young man, was admitted to Gemelli on February 14 after an aggravation of bronchitis.
2 blood transfusions
Doctors first diagnosed an infection of the bacterial, viral and fungal respiratory tract, and shortly after, pneumonia, in the two lungs. Blood tests have shown signs of anemia, low blood plates and the start of kidney failure, which all resolved later after two blood transfusions.
The most serious setbacks began on February 28, when Francis experienced an acute cough adjustment and inhaled vomit, requiring the use of a non -invasive mechanical ventilation mask to help him breathe.
He underwent two more breathing crises a few days later, which forced doctors to manually suck up “copious” quantities of mucus of his lungs, how much he started sleeping with the ventilation mask at night to help his lungs clean the accumulation of liquids.
Francis has never been intubated and at no time has lost consciousness, the doctors said.
Dr. Sergio Alfieri, Gemelli’s medical and surgical leader, who coordinated Francis’ medical team, said the Pope’s life was in danger twice, during the two acute respiratory crises.
Alfieri confirmed that Francis still had trouble speaking due to the damage to his lungs and the respiratory muscles. But he said that such problems were normal, especially in older patients, and predicted that his voice would ultimately return to normal.
No confirmed appointments for the moment
Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni refused to confirm any upcoming event, including an audience listed on April 8 with the participation of King Charles III or Francis in Easter services at the end of the month. But Carbon said he hoped that Francis could be good enough to get to Türkiye at the end of May to participate in an important ecumenical birthday.
The Pope also returns to the Vatican in the horrors of a holy year, the former celebration of the century of the century which should attract more than 30 million pilgrims in Rome this year. Francis has already missed several audiences of the jubilee and will probably lack several others, but the Vatican officials say that his absence did not significantly affect the number of expected pilgrims arriving.
Only St. John Paul II recorded longer hospitalization in 1981, when he spent 55 days in Gemelli for minor surgery and treatment of an infection.
