Pope Francis, 88, greets crowd from wheelchair in his first appearance at Vatican since battling pneumonia in hospital
THE Pope has greeted the crowd as he was seen at the Vatican for the first time since battling with pneumonia.
Pope Francis, 88, made a surprise public appearance at St Peters Square during a special Jubilee Mass for the sick on Sunday.
Crowds of worshippers gathered at the square to celebrate the mass, with no-one there expecting the pontiff to make an appearance.
Heart-warming footage shows the crowd cheering as a beaming Pope Francis was rolled in in a wheelchair.
The pontiff can be seen lifting his hands to wave at the crowd as he is rolled to the front of the altar.
The Pope said in a strong voice: “Good Sunday to everyone. Thank you very much.”
The Pope appeared to be in better health than when he was last seen in public shortly before his release from hospital in March.
The pontiff appeared briefly behind a glass balcony on the fifth floor at Gemelli University Hospital in Rome where he greeted and blessed a waiting crowd.
He looked sickly as he sat in a wheelchair but he made the appearance without the assistance of oxygen.
Francis blessed the crowd, thanked them for coming to speak to him, and pointed out a woman who had brought yellow flowers to wish him well.
He gave a weak sign of the cross before being wheeled back inside.
The Pope was hospitalised on February 14 and spent five weeks in hospital.
During that time he suffered numerous health problems including kidney failure and numerous respiratory crises.
He also battled pneumonia in both lungs, and had to be placed on a ventilator to breathe for him and receive oxygen through a nasal cannula.
Following his battle with double pneumonia the Pope has had to relearn how to speak again.
When the Pope’s discharge was announced Gemelli’s medical director, Doctor Sergio Alfieri, said that he would need at least two months of rest and rehabilitation during his recovery.
The King and Queen were due to visit the Vatican but had to postpone as the pontiff required an “extended period of rest and recuperation”.
Buckingham Palace made the announcement just two days after Pope Francis left hospital following his life-threatening pneumonia battle.
The palace said: “The King and Queen’s State Visit to The Holy See has been postponed by mutual agreement, as medical advice has now suggested that Pope Francis would benefit from an extended period of rest and recuperation.
“Their Majesties send The Pope their best wishes for his convalescence and look forward to visiting him in The Holy See, once he has recovered.”
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