The 88-year-old pontiff has been battling double pneumonia in both lungs after he was admitted to the hospital on Feb. 14 after a bout of bronchitis that made it difficult for him to speak. He has remained out of public view since then. After several days of improvement, the Vatican said on Saturday that Francis “intends to wave and offer blessing” from the hospital after the Angelus prayers. The pope has missed the Angelus prayers for five straight weeks for the first time in his papacy. The Angelus prayers are normally recited by the pope every Sunday from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square to the gathered faithful.The current hospitalization is the longest of Francis’ papacy. It has been marked by a rollercoaster of setbacks, including respiratory crises, mild kidney failure and a severe coughing fit, which forced doctors to put Francis on a mechanical ventilation mask.
On Friday, the Vatican said the pope’s condition continued to improve and that he no longer needed to use a mechanical ventilation mask to help him breathe.
Though out of public view for weeks, the pope shared a recorded message in early March thanking people for their prayers for his recovery. The message – which highlighted Francis’ weak and labored voice – was played in St. Peter’s Square for the faithful gathered for a nightly recitation of the rosary prayer. The Vatican also released a photo of the pope at prayer.
