Rome
CNN
—
Pope Francis joked that he is “still alive” as he left the hospital in Rome the place he spent the past few days being handled for a respiratory an infection.
He stopped to speak to nicely wishers and journalists after being discharged from Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Saturday morning.
The Pontiff was in good spirits when he replied to CNN’s Delia Gallagher’s questions on how he was feeling, telling her “[I’m] still alive, you know!”
When requested if he bought scared on Wednesday as a consequence of his respiratory issues, the Pope recalled what an “old man” advised him after going via an identical scenario.
“An old man, older than me, told me after a situation like this: ‘Father, I didn’t see death, but I saw it coming. It’s ugly, eh!’”
He additionally embraced a pair who the Vatican stated misplaced their daughter the earlier evening.
After leaving the hospital, Pope Francis paid a go to to one in all Rome’s most well-known church buildings, Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore, and prayed for the sick youngsters he met whereas being handled, the Vatican added.
Pope Francis, 86, was taken to Gemelli hospital on Wednesday and given antibiotics to deal with infectious bronchitis.
The pontiff – who as a younger man suffered from extreme pneumonia and had a part of a lung eliminated – has had a recent history of medical issues.
He has typically been seen with a strolling stick and typically makes use of a wheelchair as a consequence of ache in his proper knee. Last yr, he canceled a visit to Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan after docs stated he may additionally need to miss a later journey to Canada until he agreed to have 20 extra days of remedy and relaxation for his knee. He finally went to the DRC and South Sudan in February.
Francis additionally suffers from diverticulitis, a typical situation that may trigger the irritation or an infection of the colon. In 2021, he had surgical procedure to take away a part of his colon.
The Pope is predicted to take part in a Palm Sunday Mass service in St Peter’s Square.