After a five-week hospital stay for treatment of a touch-and-go case of double pneumonia, Pope Francis is scheduled to be discharged on Sunday. In making the announcement Saturday at Gemelli Hospital in Rome, doctors said he'll require at least two months of rest and rehabilitation, CBS News reports. Francis has not been seen in public since he was admitted on Feb. 14 while battling bronchitis. The doctors told reporters that his condition has been stable for at least two weeks and described his release as a "protected discharge," per NBC News.
"During his hospitalization, he presented two critical episodes during which the Holy Father's life was in danger," Dr. Sergio Alfieri said. "He subsequently made slow but progressive improvements." The pope will continue medication, Alfieri said. The pope's personal physician said the Vatican has been prepared for the convalescence. "We hope that within a brief period, he can go back to his normal activity," said Dr. Luigi Carbone. The Vatican announced that Francis, 88, will make an appearance on Sunday, per CBS, offering a blessing at the hospital after the Angelus prayers.
A Vatican official said Friday that the prolonged use of high-flow oxygen therapy might mean the pope will have to "relearn to speak," per Reuters. "The pope is doing very well, but high-flow oxygen dries everything out," Cardinal Victor Fernandez said. Officials said the pope is receiving oxygen through a small tube under his nose at night but is no longer using mechanical ventilation. Less high-flow oxygen is administered during the day, per the BBC. (More Pope Francis stories.)
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