A weak and frail Pope Francis left the hospital Sunday after surviving a five-week, life-threatening bout of pneumonia, giving a thumbs up to an adoring crowd before returning home to the Vatican, per the AP. During the trip home from the Gemelli hospital, the 88-year-old Francis took a slight detour to bring him to the St. Mary Major basilica, where his favorite icon of the Madonna is located and where he always goes to pray after a foreign visit. But it wasn't clear if he got out of the car.
Before leaving the hospital, Francis acknowledged the crowd after he was wheeled out onto the balcony overlooking the main entry. Hundreds of people had gathered on a brilliant Sunday morning to say goodbye. "I see this woman with the yellow flowers. Brava!" a tired-looking Francis said. He gave a weak sign of the cross before being wheeled back inside. Chants of "Viva il papa!" and "Papa Francesco" erupted from the crowd, which included patients who had been wheeled outside to catch his brief appearance.
Doctors said that he should refrain from meeting with big groups of people or exerting himself, but that eventually he should be able to resume all his normal activities. The Argentine pope, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, was admitted to Gemelli on Feb. 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.
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