Pope Francis to be released from hospital after life threatening battle with pneumonia

Pope Francis has largely recovered from a life-threatening respiratory infection and is expected to be discharged from hospital on Sunday, according to his doctors. This comes nearly a month after the Pontiff was in critical condition with a “prolonged asthmatic crisis.”

After spending more than five weeks in the hospital, doctors said that his life-threatening respiratory illness was successfully treated, and that he will require two months of rest and care at the Vatican.

“Today, we are happy to say that tomorrow he will be at home,” Sergio Alfieri, the hospital’s head of medicine and surgery, told journalists on Saturday night. During his hospitalization, the pope experienced two “very critical episodes” in which his “life was in danger,” Alfieri said.

Francis underwent two bronchoscopies to try to remove mucus secretions in his lungs, the Vatican said earlier this month. He had also received noninvasive mechanical ventilation. But the pontiff never required a tracheal tube to keep his airway open.

“The holy father was never intubated and he always remained alert and oriented,” Alfieri said. Alfieri told reporters that the bilateral pneumonia has been successfully treated, but time is needed for a complete recovery.

In what will be his first public appearance he was hospitalized, Francis will give his blessing shortly after noon on Sunday to a crowd outside the hospital, the Vatican said in a statement.

The pope thanked pilgrims for their prayers, and them asked to continue sending messages of support, according to the Vatican. “I bless you and pray for you. And please: continue to pray for me too.”