Pope Francis Makes Public Appearance in Rome

Pope Francis made his first, brief, appearance in more than six weeks on Sunday, appearing on the balcony of a Rome hospital to greet hundreds of people gathered in the square in front. Looking frail, Francis gave a thumbs up.

“Thank you everyone,” he said in a wisp of a voice. The pope later left the hospital to briefly stop at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, which has an icon of the Virgin Mary he is devoted to, before heading to the guesthouse where he lives in the Vatican.

“I see a woman with yellow flowers,” Francis said during his appearance on the second-floor balcony after he was brought out in a wheelchair. “E’ brava,” he said in appreciation of the woman. He then sat and waved with both hands while people cheered and waved flags.

The pope’s voice was frail and raspy, which was to be expected for a patient who had suffered serious damage to his lungs and respiratory muscles, as his doctors explained at a news conference Saturday.

People began cheering and rhythmically clapping: “Francesco.”

“Long live the pope,” someone called to more cheers. After a few more moments, the pope made the sign of the cross in a blessing, then was wheeled back into the hospital.

“He seems very weak, and from the news we know that he still has two months to recover fully, but even though that’s the case, we see hope in this,” said Patricia Olivera, a teacher from Portugal who was in the crowd. “This pope is our hope” to help us “get through some things that are happening in our world that are very frightful.”

Only weeks ago, there was great concern that Francis might not recover from a bout of pneumonia he had suffered in both lungs and from other respiratory infections. His doctors, speaking at a news conference at the Policlinico A. Gemelli hospital on Saturday evening, said that the pope’s pneumonia had been so severe that it had twice put his life in critical danger.

But the pope received drug therapy treatment and oxygen that resulted in a “slow and progressive improvement,” allowing him to overcome the most critical episodes, Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the leader of the medical team taking care of the pope, said Saturday.

As in the past six weeks, Francis did not impart the traditional Sunday Angelus blessing that he normally gives from the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter’s Square.

“I’m very happy that he has recovered and we pray that he can recover fully,” said Sister Priscilla Wangarri, a Franciscan nun from Kenya who was outside the hospital. She said she had been attending nightly rosaries in St. Peter’s Square to pray for the pope’s recovery. “We love him because the church needs him, he has to shepherd his people,” she added.

He left the hospital soon after, to return to the Casa Santa Marta, the guesthouse in the Vatican where he lives, to convalesce for another two months. The doctors said Saturday that Francis should avoid unnecessary exertions and meetings with large groups or people with small children, to minimize the potential for further infections.

Dr. Luigi Carbone, Francis’s Vatican-based doctor, said the pope’s residence was sufficiently equipped to deal with his medical needs and had emergency services available for him around the clock.

Francis entered the hospital on Feb. 18 with an acute respiratory insufficiency from viral and bacterial infections. The pope, his doctors said on Saturday, had never been intubated and remained alert and conscious throughout his hospitalization.

Francis remained in critical condition for several weeks as he experienced an asthmatic respiratory crisis; initial, mild kidney failure; and a bronchial spasm that caused him to inhale his vomit after a coughing fit. He used noninvasive mechanical ventilation during the night and high-flow oxygen therapy during the day.

The Vatican said in a statement that on Sunday morning, Francis briefly met with hospital staff.

Doctors insisted that Francis, who had kept up a grueling schedule before his illness, needed to take it easy for at least two months.

“Convalescence is by definition a phase of recovery so it is clear that in the period of convalescence, he will not be able to carry out his daily activity of meeting with people as he was used to,” at least in for time being, said Dr. Carbone.

“We saw him in September, and you can definitely see the decline from September,” said Carlos Aguirre, a construction worker from Colorado Springs who came to the hospital as part of a group of Catholic pilgrims from the United States. He said he was happy to see Francis on the mend. “It’s God’s will. If he’s coming out, it means that God still has a plan for him,” he said.