Pope Francis Returns to the Vatican After 3 Days in the Hospital

A Vatican statement on April 1 said that the pope spoke to the hospital administrators, as well as the team of doctors and medical staff who treated him before leaving the hospital around 10:30 a.m. local time.

Pope Francis’ first stop before returning to Vatican City was to pray in the Roman Basilica of St. Mary Major, where he entrusted the sick children he met at the hospital, as well as all who are sick and suffering from illnesses to the care of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

After being discharged from the hospital on April 1, 2023, Pope Francis went to pray in the Basilica of St. Mary Major. Vatican Media

Pope Francis was released from the hospital one day before the start of Holy Week. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said that the pope is expected to be present at Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square on April 2.

The 86-year-old pope was admitted to the hospital on March 29 with difficulty breathing. He was later diagnosed with bronchitis. His condition improved after receiving antibiotic infusion therapy, according to the Vatican.

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While being treated in the hospital’s papal medical suite, the pope read the newspaper, did some work, and even shared a pizza dinner together with some of the medical staff.

On his last full day at Gemelli, Pope Francis visited the pediatric oncology ward, where he gave out rosaries and chocolate Easter eggs to the children. The pope also baptized a baby named Miguel Angel, who was only a few weeks old.

????VIDEO | The Vatican released the first video of Pope Francis at Rome's Gemelli Hospital, where he baptized a baby boy named Miguel Angel. He is expected to return to the Vatican this Saturday. pic.twitter.com/J6pk05NJak

— EWTN Vatican (@EWTNVatican) March 31, 2023

Gemelli is the same hospital where Pope Francis was hospitalized for ten days in July 2021 when he underwent surgery on his colon for diverticulitis, or inflammation of the intestinal wall.

In an interview with the Associated Press in January, Pope Francis disclosed that the diverticulitis had “returned.” At the time, the pope — who traveled to South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo in late January — insisted he was in relatively good condition.

Rome's Gemelli Hospital. The papal medical suite can be identified from the street by its five large windows covered by white blinds. Courtney Mares/CNA.

Pope Francis recovered from bronchitis in the papal medical suite situated on the 10th floor of Gemelli University Hospital in a wing reserved for papal medical emergencies.

It is the same hospital suite where John Paul II was treated throughout his pontificate, including after being shot in an assassination attempt in 1981.

Courtney Mares is a Rome Correspondent for Catholic News Agency. A graduate of Harvard University, she has reported from news bureaus on three continents and was awarded the Gardner Fellowship for her work with North Korean refugees.