Pope Francis makes his first public appearance and is discharged from the hospital

Pope Francis was discharged from the hospital Sunday after making a brief public appearance for the first time in more than five weeks, waving to a crowd from his window at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital where he had been hospitalized with pneumonia in both lungs.

Pope Francis was discharged from the hospital Sunday after making a brief public appearance for the first time in more than five weeks, waving to a crowd from his window at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital where he had been hospitalized with pneumonia in both lungs.

The pontiff, 88, smiled and greeted the cheering crowds waiting outside for a glimpse at the leader of the Catholic Church, who appeared on the balcony in a wheelchair, which he has used for several years.

“Thank you all,” he said into a microphone, before waving again.

Francis appeared to make the sign of the cross to the crowd before he was taken back into his room.

Pope Francis waves from a window of the Gemelli hospital Sunday. FILIPPO MONTEFORTE / AFP - Getty ImagesMinutes later, he could be seen waving from the back seat of a car as a convoy left the hospital. On his way back to the Vatican, the Pope stopped in the center of Rome to pray at the Papal Basilica, before arriving at the Vatican.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/pope-francis-first-public-appearance-discharged-rcna197657

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