A jovial Pope Francis joked with well-wishers yesterday as he left hospital after a three-night stay for bronchitis, and headed back to the Vatican to prepare for Christianity’s most important week.
The 86-year-old pontiff, who was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Wednesday with breathing difficulties, got out of the car transporting him and smiled and joked with the crowd.
Asked by someone how he felt, he quipped twice with a big smile “I am still alive!”
Francis will now begin preparations for Holy Week and Easter, the most important week in the Christian calendar.
The pontiff felt unwell on Wednesday after a general audience in St Peter’s Square, but his condition improved after he was given antibiotics.
On Friday, the Pope visited the children’s cancer ward at the hospital, handing out chocolate Easter eggs.
As he left yesterday, he reached out to bless sick people, and stopped to hug and pray with distraught parents whose young daughter had just died.
The Argentine Pope confirmed yesterday he will preside over Palm Sunday mass in St Peter’s Square, the start of a busy week of events leading up to Easter.
Francis’ hospitalisation was his second since 2021, when he underwent colon surgery, also at Gemelli. His increasing health issues over the past year have sparked widespread concern, including speculation that he might choose to retire rather than stay in the job for life.
Pressed by journalists yesterday as to whether he had been scared by his latest illness, he shook his head and said “no”.
He was set to dive back into work at the Vatican, with a meeting with a top cardinal on the agenda.
His predecessor, Benedict XVI, quit in 2013, in a radical step not seen since the Middle Ages. Visitors to St Peter’s Square yesterday expressed relief over his recovery.
French tourist Nathalie Leon said “we feel he’s tired, but he’s resilient. He is an extraordinary Pope... we count on him”.
Francis marked 10 years as the head of the worldwide Catholic Church earlier this month.
He has pushed through major governance reforms and sought to forge a more open, compassionate Church, although he has faced internal opposition, particularly from conservatives.
He has repeatedly said he would consider stepping down were his health to fail him — but said last month that for now, he has no plans to quit.
During Palm Sunday mass, Francis is expected to remain seated while another cleric — probably a senior cardinal — conducts the ceremony at the altar.
The Vatican, citing medical staff, said on Thursday that Francis had been diagnosed with “infectious bronchitis” requiring antibiotics, and that the treatment had brought about a “marked improvement in his state of health”.