ROME, Italy, April 3 ------ A cheerful Pope Francis joked with well-wishers as he left hospital after a three-night stay for bronchitis, and headed back to the Vatican to prepare for Christianity's most important week.
The 86-year-old pontiff, who was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital last week with breathing difficulties, got out of the car transporting him and smiled and joked with the crowd. Asked by someone how he felt, he quipped twice with a big smile "I am still alive!" Francis will now begin preparations for Holy Week and Easter, the most important week in the Christian calendar.
The pontiff felt unwell last week after a general audience in St Peter's Square, but his condition improved after he was given antibiotics. The pope visited the children's cancer ward at the hospital, handing out chocolate Easter eggs and baptizing a weeks-old baby boy. As he left, he reached out to bless sick people, and stopped to hug and pray with distraught parents whose young daughter had just died. The Argentine pope confirmed he will preside over Palm Sunday mass in St Peter's Square, the start of a busy week of events leading up to Easter.
Francis' hospitalization was his second since 2021, when he underwent colon surgery, also at Gemelli. His increasing health issues over the past year have sparked widespread concern, including speculation that he might choose to retire rather than stay in the job for life. Pressed by journalists as to whether he had been scared by his latest illness, he shook his head and said "no". He is set to dive back into work at the Vatican, with a meeting with a top cardinal on the agenda.
Francis marked 10 years as the head of the worldwide Catholic Church earlier this month. He has pushed through major governance reforms and sought to forge a more open, compassionate Church, although he has faced internal opposition, particularly from conservatives. He has repeatedly said he would consider stepping down were his health to fail him -- but said last month that for now, he has no plans to quit.
The Vatican, citing medical staff, said that Francis had been diagnosed with "infectious bronchitis" requiring antibiotics, and that the treatment had brought about a "marked improvement in his state of health". A Jesuit who seems most happy being among his flock, Francis continues to travel internationally and keep a busy schedule. But he has been forced to use a wheelchair and a walking stick in the past year because of knee pain, and admitted last summer that he had to slow down.
Francis' earlier stay at Gemelli in July 2021 lasted 10 days. He was admitted after suffering from a type of diverticulitis, an inflammation of pockets that develop in the lining of the intestine, that required surgery.
Source: news.abs-cbn.com
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