Pope Francis left this Saturday (04.01.2023) the Gemelli hospital in Rome where he had been admitted since last Wednesday due to bronchitis that was treated with an intravenous infusion of antibiotics. Upon leaving him, asked about his state of health, and he replied with a laugh: “I’m still alive.”
After being discharged, the Argentine pontiff left the hospital at 10:20 local time (08:20 GMT) aboard a utility vehicle and, upon leaving, got down to the car helped by a cane, to greet the faithful and thank journalists who have reported on his health.
The spokesman for the Holy See, Matteo Bruni, already anticipated on Friday that Francis would leave the hospital on Saturday with the approval of the doctors who treated him. From the first day, he was hospitalized his health confirmed an “improvement”, as Bruni clarified. by then.
A baptism and a visit to the admitted children
On Friday afternoon, he visited the children of the Pediatric Oncology and Child Neurosurgery unit and baptized a baby named Miguel Ángel. The moment was recorded by the Vatican cameras and served to see the pontiff for the first time since his admission, smiling among the patients and even standing (in recent times he usually uses a cane or even a wheelchair due to his knee problems ).
The Vatican has confirmed that Francis plans to preside over the Palm Sunday Mass tomorrow, which officially opens the rites of Holy Week, the most important of the liturgical calendar, although it will be officiated by Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri.
