Pope Francis makes first public appearance in weeks, returns to Vatican

23 March 2025

VATICAN CITY: Shortly before returning to his home in the Vatican on Sunday, Pope Francis made a brief appearance from a fifth-floor balcony of the Gemelli Clinic in Rome to a crowd of faithful gathered outside the hospital, Catholic News Agency (CNA) reported.

The moment marked his first public engagement in weeks. Waving and giving a “thumps-up” before blessing the faithful gathered outside Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.

After the short interaction, the Holy Father was discharged from the hospital, and taken to the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore, where he delivered flowers to place before the icon of the Virgin Salus Populi Romani.

Afterward, he returned to the Vatican, according to the Holy See.

Prior to his window appearance and return to the Vatican, Pope Francis briefly met with medical staff and the hospital leadership to thank them for his treatment.

Hospital officials indicated on Saturday that the pope will continue convalescing at his apartment in Casa Santa Marta for at least two months and will require ongoing oxygen therapy during his convalescence.

Doctors said at a Saturday press conference that Francis would undergo a “protected discharge” and would “still have to carry out” treatment “for a long time.”

Francis, 88, was hospitalised on February 14 with a severe respiratory infection, marking the most serious health crisis of his 12-year papacy- CNA