Pope returns to Vatican after long hospital stay

What happened

Pope Francis made his first public appearance in more than five weeks Sunday, waving to well-wishers from his balcony at Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic hospital before being discharged and driven back home to the Vatican to convalesce. The pope had entered the hospital on Feb. 14 with worsening bronchitis, and his subsequent battle against double pneumonia included "two very critical episodes" where his "life was in danger," said Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the head of the pope's hospital medical team.

Who said what

"Thank you, everyone," Pope Francis said from the hospital balcony, his "wisp of a voice" thin and "raspy" from his lung infections, according to The New York Times. The 88-year-old pope looked "frail" and wore nasal oxygen tubes during the drive home, The Associated Press said, but his exit from the hospital "brought tangible relief to the Vatican and Catholic faithful who have been anxiously following 38 days of medical ups and downs and wondering if Francis would make it."

What next?

Doctors have instructed the pope, "who had kept up a grueling schedule before his illness," to "take it easy for at least two months" and avoid large groups and small children due to infection concerns, the Times said.

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