The condition of Pope Francis has improved enough to be discharged from a hospital in Rome on Sunday and sent to recover in the Vatican for at least two months, said his doctors on Saturday evening.
Sunday, Francis has planned to make his first public appearance since he was hospitalized on February 14th. The balcony of the 10th floor of the Gemelli hospital in Rome should appear at noon, where he stayed, to greet the crowd and to give a traditional Sunday blessing, Matteo Bruni, the Vatican Spokesman, told a news conference on Saturday.
The announcement of the next release of the Pope made a remarkable round of events for the leader of almost 1.4 billion Roman Catholics in the world, after weeks in which he lay in critical conditions and the Roman Catholic Church seemed on the verge of a conclave to choose his successor. Instead, the constant improvement, even if slow, of Francis has inaugurated a new phase for him and the Church.
He will return to the Vatican, he will physically decrease, at least in the short term, without his voice, dependent on oxygen and deprived of the proximity to the faithful, who was the distinctive sign of his pontificate and the manifestation of his pastoral vision for the Church.
“He is a sigh of relief,” said his father Antonio Spadaro, a narrow partner of Francis. “He added that for the Church, but also for a world in flow,” there was a great anticipation, in addition to the need, for his presence “.
Francis had been able to govern the Church from the hospital, but after finishing his blessing on Sunday he would return home, said Mr. Bruni.
Only weeks ago, there was a great concern within the church and in addition to this he would never return. The doctors, who speak in a press conference at the Gemelli hospital on Saturday evening, said that the case of pneumonia by the Pope in both lungs had been so serious that he had given life twice in serious danger.
But they said he had been stable for two weeks and that in the last three or four days he had asked when he could go home.
“He was very happy,” said dr. Sergio Alfieri, the leader of the medical team who takes care of the Pope. Dr. Alfieri added that he himself was happy to share “the good news that I imagine that the whole world was waiting for”.
The doctors said that the Pope had passed his most dangerous infections, but that he was not completely healed and had to rest for at least two months.
But the doctors said that Francis, 88 years old, would still require drug therapy and oxygen, as is normal for patients who recovered from pneumonia, before he can resume his regular program. They added that they hoped that soon they would no longer request oxygen, but they invited the Pope to avoid meeting with large groups and people with small children and who avoided other possible sources of infection.
His doctors also said that Francis had difficulty talking, that he was expected for a patient who had suffered serious damage to the lungs and respiratory muscles.
“One of the first things that happens is lost a little voice,” said dr. Luigi Carbone, the Pope’s Vatican doctor, who also spoke in a press conference on Saturday evening. “It will take time for his voice as he was as he was.”
For weeks, Catholics from all over the world have prayed for the pope’s healing and from February 25, the cardinals and bishops led a night prayer of the Rosary in the square of San Pietro who attracts hundreds of faithful every night.
Francis remained in critical condition for several weeks while experimented with an asthmatic respiratory crisis; Initial renal failure, mild; And a bronchial spasm that made him inhale his vomiting after a guise of cough. He used non -invasive mechanical ventilation during the night and oxygen high flow therapy during the day.
The doctors said that after the Pope had survived his most serious crises, they asked him how he was doing.
“” I’m still alive, “said Dr. Alfieri.” It was then that we knew he was fine and had regained his good humor. “
Francis entered the hospital with acute respiratory insufficiency with viral and bacterial infections, but was treated with a treatment with drug therapy and oxygen that has slowly improved his condition. The Pope, his doctors said on Saturday, had never been intubated and were vigilant and aware during his hospitalization.
The doctors said that the Pope’s Vatican residence was sufficiently equipped to manage his medical needs and that they had emergency services available all day.
Francis has often fought with bronchitis during the winter months, but this had not prevented the Pope from maintaining an exhausting program in the weeks preceding his hospitalization, intensified by the opening of the Jubilee of 2025, a year of faith, penance and forgiveness of the sins that take place only every quarter of a century.