Pope Francis will be discharged from Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Sunday and will need at least two months of rest at the Vatican, doctors treating him have said.
The 88-year-old was admitted to the hospital on 14 February with a severe respiratory infection that resulted in double pneumonia.
During the past five weeks, he presented “two very critical episodes” where his “life was in danger”, Dr Sergio Alfieri, one of the doctors treating the Pope, said.
Pope Francis was never intubated and always remained alert and oriented, Dr Alfieri said. The Pope is not completely healed, but no longer has pneumonia and is now in a stable condition, according to his doctors.
“Today we are happy to say that tomorrow he will be at home,” Dr Alfieri told reporters on Saturday.
The Pope will offer a blessing from his window at the Gemelli hospital on Sunday – the first time he will appear in public since he was admitted to hospital – before returning to his residence at the Vatican.
Dr Alfieri said that patients with double pneumonia lose their voice a little and “especially in the elderly, it will take time for your voice to return to normal”.
On Friday, Cardinal Victor Fernandez