After enduring a life-threatening bout of pneumonia for five weeks, a frail Pope Francis has been discharged and returned to the Vatican. Before beginning a two-month period of rest and recovery, he made a special stop at his favorite basilica for a brief visit. This act demonstrates his devotion to his faith and his positive attitude towards recovery.
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03-26, 2025On Sunday morning (Sunday evening AEST), the motorcade carrying the 88-year-old Pope entered Vatican City through the Perugino Gate. Francis was seen sitting in the front passenger seat, wearing a nasal cannula to supplement his oxygen. This indicates that he is still in the recovery phase and requires additional medical support.
On the way home from Gemelli Hospital, Francis made a slight detour to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, which houses his favorite icon of the Virgin Mary. He visits this basilica to pray after every trip abroad. Instead of getting out of the car, Francis handed a bouquet of flowers to a cardinal to place before the icon of Salus Populi Romani, a Byzantine-style wooden painting revered by the people of Rome.
Before leaving the hospital, Francis gave a thumbs-up to the crowd gathered under the balcony of the main entrance. Hundreds of people had gathered on a sunny Sunday morning to bid him farewell. "I saw that lady with the yellow flowers. Great!" said Francis, who appeared tired and slightly puffy. He weakly made the sign of the cross and was then wheeled back inside.
The crowd erupted in cheers of "Viva il Papa!" and "Pope Francis," including some patients who had been wheeled outside just to catch a glimpse of the Pope. Doctors announced his planned discharge at a press conference on Saturday evening (Sunday morning AEST), stating that he would need two months of rest and recovery, during which he should avoid meeting with large groups of people or overexerting himself. However, they expressed optimism that he should eventually be able to resume all normal activities.
His return home, after the longest hospitalization of his 12-year papacy and the second-longest hospitalization in modern papal history, brought tangible relief to the Vatican and to the Catholic faithful who had been anxiously following the ups and downs of his condition for 38 days, worried about whether he would pull through.
"Today I am very happy," said Dr. Rossella Rusomando from Salerno, who was not treating Francis but was at Gemelli Hospital on Sunday. "This is proof that all our prayers, all the rosaries from all over the world, have brought this grace."
On Sunday, pilgrims flocked to St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican as usual for the 2025 Jubilee events. They thronged to St. Peter's Square, passing in droves through the Holy Door, while large television screens in the square showed live footage of Francis's greetings from the hospital.
No special arrangements were made at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the hotel next to St. Peter's Basilica where Francis lives in a two-room suite on the second floor. Francis will receive supplemental oxygen as needed and 24-hour medical care, although his personal physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, said he hopes he will gradually reduce his need for breathing assistance as Francis's lungs recover.
While the pneumonia infection has been successfully treated, Francis will continue to take oral medication long-term to treat a fungal infection in his lungs and will continue with respiratory and physical therapy. "For three or four days he has been asking when he can go home, so he is very happy," Carbone said.
The Argentine Pope, who has a history of chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed when he was younger, was admitted to Gemelli Hospital on February 14 after experiencing a worsening of bronchitis. Doctors initially diagnosed a complicated bacterial, viral, and fungal respiratory infection, later diagnosed as pneumonia in both lungs. Blood tests showed signs of anemia, low platelets, and kidney failure, which were alleviated after two blood transfusions.
The most serious setback began on February 28, when Francis suddenly coughed violently and inhaled vomit, requiring the use of a non-invasive mechanical ventilation mask to help him breathe. He experienced two more breathing crises a few days later, requiring doctors to manually extract "significant" mucus from his lungs, and he has since been sleeping with a ventilation mask at night to help his lungs clear accumulated fluid.
He was never intubated, nor did he ever lose consciousness. Doctors reported that he remained alert and cooperative throughout, although they said he may have lost a little weight due to a natural decrease in appetite.
"Unfortunately, yes, for a while many people were saying that he might not make it. It was painful for us," said Mario Balsamo, the former owner of a coffee shop at Gemelli Hospital. "Instead, today he is being discharged, and we are very happy that he is well, and we hope he recovers quickly and regains his strength."
Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the director of medical and surgical sciences at Gemelli Hospital, who coordinated Francis's medical team, emphasized that not all patients who develop such severe cases of double pneumonia survive, let alone get discharged. He said that Francis's life was in danger during the two acute respiratory crises and that the Pope had clearly lost his typical sense of humor at the time.
"But one morning we went to listen to his lungs, and we asked him how he was feeling. When he answered, 'I'm still alive,' we knew he was okay and had recovered his sense of humor," he said. Alfieri confirmed that Francis still has difficulty speaking due to damage to his lungs and respiratory muscles. However, he said that these problems are normal, especially in elderly patients, and predicted that his voice would eventually return to normal.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni declined to confirm any upcoming events, including a planned meeting with King Charles III on April 8, or Francis's participation in Easter week celebrations at the end of the month. However, Carbone said he hopes Francis will be well enough to travel to Turkey at the end of May for an important ecumenical anniversary.
Francis is also scheduled to return to the Vatican during the Jubilee Year, a celebration held every quarter-century that is expected to draw more than 30 million pilgrims to Rome this year. The Pope has already missed several Jubilee audiences and may miss more, but Vatican officials say his absence has not significantly affected the expected number of pilgrims arriving.
Only Saint John Paul II holds the record for a longer hospitalization, when he spent 55 days at Gemelli Hospital in 1981 for minor surgery and treatment for an infection.
