Pope Francis makes his first public appearance after several weeks of illness
Pope Francis made his first appearance to the faithful from the balcony of the Agostino Gemelli Hospital, where he has spent more than five weeks. A crowd of people gathered in front of the hospital to see him.
This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to Radio Liberty.
As noted, Pope Francis made his first public appearance on March 23 after more than five weeks of illness-related absence. The pontiff waved from the balcony of Rome's Gemelli Hospital before his expected discharge from the medical facility in the afternoon.
We will remind, 88-year-old Francis was hospitalized on February 14 with a severe respiratory infection, which led to the most serious deterioration in his health in 12 years of the papacy.
On March 22, doctors said that the head of the Roman Catholic Church would need "a long time to recover" and that they recommended two months of rest.
"Patients with bilateral pneumonia lose their voice a little bit, and especially elderly people need time for their voice to return to normal," said Dr. Sergio Alfieri.
During his stay at the Gemelli Clinic, the Pope, according to the doctors, had "two critical episodes" that put his life in danger. Now he is no longer suffering from pneumonia and is in stable condition.
At the age of 21, the future Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, had part of his lung removed, and since then he has been particularly prone to respiratory diseases.
