Pope Francis made his first public appearance since being discharged from the hospital two weeks ago, entering St. Peter's Square at the Vatican in a wheelchair as part of a Jubilee Mass for the Sick. The pontiff, 88, passed through a jubilant crowd before giving his blessing as the celebrant, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, offered a final blessing as well. "Have a good Sunday everyone," said Pope Francis. "Thank you so much." The Vatican released a text prepared by Francis shortly after Mass finished on Sunday, praying for “for doctors, nurses and health workers, who are not always helped to work in adequate conditions and are sometimes even victims of aggression.”

Pope Francis made his first public appearance on Sunday since being discharged from the hospital two weeks ago, following treatment for double pneumonia, Reuters reported. The 88-year-old pontiff appeared in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican in a wheelchair, greeting the crowds with a warm smile and a brief address.

Francis had been out of public view since March 23, when he had given a short greeting before leaving Rome's Gemelli hospital after more than five weeks of treatment in the most serious health crisis of his 12-year papacy. The pope, in a previously unannounced move, came out to the square shortly before noon at the end of the celebration of a Mass for the Catholic Church's Jubilee year. Coming in front of the main altar for the service in bright sunshine, Francis waved to the crowds, before speaking briefly to greet the crowd. Surrounded by a mass of smartphones and cameras, and attached to nasal breathing tubes, his voice was fragile but more audible than when he left the Gemelli hospital on 23 March. His last public appearance was 14 February. Francis is, in theory, undergoing two months of convalescence following his life-threatening health scare, with strict rest, no public activity and no contact with crowds.