Pope Francis left Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Sunday, more than five weeks after the 88-year-old was admitted on February 14 with breathing difficulties that developed into pneumonia.
The head of the Catholic Church departed by car, waving from the closed window as he passed journalists. He was seen wearing a cannula—a plastic tube in his nostrils used to deliver oxygen.
Earlier in the day, the Pope addressed and thanked the faithful from a hospital balcony, marking his first public appearance since his admission.
“Thank you, everyone,” a weak-sounding Francis said into a microphone while seated in a wheelchair. He waved gently to the crowd below and gave a thumbs-up sign.
