Key Points
- The pope made his first public appearance since 14 February.
- Pope Francis, 88, was hospitalised with double pneumonia and other complications.
- Doctors said the pontiff will need two months of rest.
Pope Francis has returned to the Vatican after surviving a five-week battle in hospital against double pneumonia that became of his 12-year papacy.
The 88-year-old pope, who also made his first public appearance since 14 February before being discharged from Rome's Gemelli hospital, left the facility shortly after noon local time on Sunday (10pm AEDT).
A car carrying the pontiff was accompanied by police vehicles through Rome, making a short detour to take flowers to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, a church to which Francis has a special devotion and visits frequently.
Though the pope has returned from hospital, his doctors have said it would still take "a lot of time" for his ageing body to heal fully.
They have prescribed a further two months of rest at the Vatican and told him to avoid large or stressful meetings, leaving unclear how much activity Francis will undertake in the coming months.
Hundreds of well-wishers called out for the Pope, chanting "Francis, Francis, Francis". Source: ABACA / Vandeville Eric
His face looked swollen and there were bandages visible on both arms underneath his white cassock during the appearance, which lasted only a few moments.
He spoke briefly, with a feeble voice, to thank a 79-year-old woman named Carmela Vittoria Mancuso in the crowd below. Mancuso, who visited the hospital each day during the pope's treatment, had brought yellow flowers for him. She told Reuters news agency afterwards that her heart "was bursting" when the pope noticed her.
The pope, who has been receiving oxygen to help him breathe throughout his hospital stay, was breathing on his own during the public appearance. But he was seen using a small hose under his nose for oxygen while travelling in his car.
Francis, pope since 2013, was first admitted to hospital for a bout of bronchitis that developed into double pneumonia, caused by what his doctors called a "complex" infection involving several microorganisms.
During his 38 days in hospital, the of what the Vatican called "respiratory crises", which involved serious coughing fits caused by constrictions in his airways, akin to asthma attacks.
Two of the crises were critical, putting Francis "in danger of his life", Sergio Alfieri, the head of the pope's medical team, told a press conference on Sunday AEDT.
While Francis no longer has pneumonia, he is also not completely healed, the doctor said. Alfieri said it would also take time for him to regain full use of his voice after battling a respiratory infection for so long.
But a period of two months rest for Francis could lead to significant changes to the Vatican's calendar of coming events.
The pope had been set to meet with King Charles on 8 April and to lead the Vatican's annual Easter celebrations on 20 April.
The Vatican has not said whether Francis will be able to keep those appointments.
