Pope Francis has appeared on a hospital balcony to bless the crowd in his first public outing in five weeks and ahead of his release after surviving a life-threatening bout of pneumonia.

The 88-year-old pope gave a thumbs up and acknowledged the crowd after he was wheeled out onto the balcony overlooking the main entry of Rome’s Gemelli hospital, where hundreds of people had gathered on a brilliant Sunday morning.

Chants of “Viva il papa!” and “Papa Francesco” erupted from the crowd.

Pope Francis gestures as he appears at a window of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, Sunday, March 23, 2025, where he has been treated for bronchitis and bilateral pneumonia since February 14. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

His appearance came before he was due to be released and return home to the Vatican for a two-month period of rest and convalescence.

The Argentine pope, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, was admitted to Gemelli on February 14 after a bout of bronchitis worsened.

Doctors later diagnosed a complex bacterial, viral and fungal respiratory tract infection and soon thereafter, pneumonia in both lungs.

His 38-day stay was the longest of his 12-year papacy and the second longest in recent papal history, and had raised the prospect of a papal resignation or funeral.

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