Pope Francis makes first public appearance and discharged from hospital
ROME (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Pope Francis made his first public appearance in more than five weeks Sunday ahead of his discharge from the hospital.
The pontiff smiled and greeted a cheering crowd from his window at Rome's Gemelli Hospital, where he's been hospitalized with pneumonia in both lungs.
Francis appeared to make the sign of the cross to the crowd before he was taken back into his room.
Minutes later, he could be seen waving from the back seat of a car as a convoy left the hospital.
The pope is expected to return home to Casa Santa Marta in Vatican City.
According to the head of his medical team, Francis will need a further two months of rest once he returns to the Vatican, and it will take more time before his body is fully healed.
