(Vatican City) ‘I’m still alive’: After three days of treatment for bronchitis, Pope Francis was released from the hospital in good condition on Saturday, and returned to the Vatican to prepare for Easter festivities.
The 86-year-old Argentine Jesuit suffers from chronic health problems. He uses a wheelchair due to knee pain and underwent colon surgery in July 2021.
On Wednesday, the Vatican said he was going to Rome’s Gemelli hospital for scheduled checkups, before admitting he was having difficulty breathing and was suffering from a “respiratory infection” that required treatment with antibiotics.
The pope finally left the hospital on Saturday morning, visibly in good shape, and was happy to joke with the many assembled faithful and journalists about the Roman establishment.
“I’m still alive,” said the Pope, getting out of his little white van for a few moments before making his way back to the Vatican.
On Friday, he made a surprise visit to the hospital’s pediatric oncology ward, bringing the children chocolate eggs, rosaries, and books.
François also baptized a newborn a few weeks old. In a video and photos released by the Vatican, we see the pope smiling, leaning on a walker, writing on a sheet of paper and sprinkling holy water on the newborn’s head.
The Pope will preside over Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square. This ceremony marks the beginning of Holy Week that precedes the Easter celebrations, the highlight of the year for Christians.
Visitors to St. Peter’s Square on Saturday expressed relief at his recovery. We feel that he is tired, but he is resistant. He is an exceptional Pope… We are counting on him,” said the French tourist, Nathalie Leon.
Heavy operation
The Bishop of Rome has already been hospitalized for ten days at Gemelli Hospital in July 2021 for an operation on his colon. He admitted he had retained “post-anaesthetic effects”, which has led him to rule out knee surgery just yet.
The pain caused by this joint, which notably forced him to cancel several appointments in 2022 and postpone a trip to Africa, is at the heart of speculation about his possible abandonment.
The head of the Catholic Church has long left the door open to this possibility. His predecessor Benedict XVI resigned in 2013, surprising the world.
Après avoir évoqué en juillet la possibilité de se « meter de coté », il avait jugé en fevrier que la « mission » d’un pape ne devait « pas devenir une mode », assurant that this hypothèse ne figurait « pas sur son agenda for the moment “.
The Pope is under constant surveillance by a team of caretakers, both in the Vatican and during his trips abroad.
A necessary precaution given he has a heavy medical history behind him: at age 21, he nearly died from pleurisy and suffered a partial lung resection.
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