Pope Francis made his first public appearance in more than five weeks, waving from a balcony at Rome’s Gemelli hospital before he was discharge from the facility on Sunday. 

Pope Francis, who has been battling pneumonia for more than five weeks, will need a further two months of rest at the Vatican, his medical team has said.

The 88-year-old pontiff was seen using a wheelchair, as he has for several years, as he smiled and waved at a group of people gathered outside.

The pope, whose face looked swollen, appeared only for a few moments. 

He spoke briefly, with a feeble voice, to thank one of the members of the crowd below, who had brought yellow flowers.

Francis had only been seen by the public once before during his hospital stay, in a photo the Vatican released last week, showing him at praying in the hospital chapel.

Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14 with a severe respiratory infection that became the most serious health crisis of his 12-year papacy.

While Francis will return to the Vatican on Sunday, his doctors said it would take “a lot of time” for his aging body to fully heal.

They said they had prescribed the pope two months of repose, and had advised him against taking any meetings with large groups, or that require special effort.

“The recommendation for a period of convalescence of at least two months is very important,” Sergio Alfieri, head of the pope’s medical team, told the press conference.

Francis, who was fighting double pneumonia, suffered four acute attacks of what the Vatican called “respiratory crises” during his time in hospital.

Alfieri said that two of the crises had been critical, with the pope “in danger of his life”.

The pontiff no longer has pneumonia, but is also not completely healed from a “complex” infection involving several microorganisms, said the doctor.

In the moments before the pope’s appearance, the crowd of hundreds of well-wishers called out for the pontiff, chanting “Francis, Francis, Francis”.

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