ROME (AP) – Pope Francis was discharged by doctors on Saturday from the hospital in Rome where he was being treated for bronchitis, the Vatican said, adding that one evening the pope ate pizza with medical staff and baptized a baby in the children’s ward have .
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni also said in one of several updates Friday that Pope Francis will be in St. Peter’s Square for Palm Sunday mass at the start of Holy Week, though he didn’t say if the pope would preach during Holy Week’s particularly long service .
“The medical team following His Holiness Pope Francis, after evaluating the results of the tests carried out today and the favorable clinical recovery, confirmed the discharge on Saturday,” Bruni said in a written statement Friday evening.
Francis, 86, was hospitalized at Gemelli Polyclinic on Wednesday, where doctors said the pope was receiving antibiotics intravenously to treat his bronchitis.
Calling the pope’s medical recovery “normal,” Bruni said earlier in the day that “Pope Francis had dinner and a pizza on Thursday night along with all those supporting him during these days of hospitalization,” including doctors, nurses , assistants and security personnel of the Vatican.
Given the Pope’s return to the Vatican Hotel, where he lives, the spokesman said he was expected to be present in the square for Palm Sunday Mass, which officially begins Holy Week, which begins on April 9 with Easter Mass at the place culminates.
Medical staff decided to hospitalize him on Wednesday after he returned to his Vatican residence after his usual weekly public audience in St. Peter’s Square. The Vatican reported he had had trouble breathing in the days before.
The Vatican said Thursday that antibiotic treatment for bronchitis has resulted in a “significant” improvement in his health.
In a video released by the Vatican, Francis was seen baptizing a hospital baby just a few weeks old.
After the mother tells Francis the boy’s name, Miguel Angel, the Pope uses a metal hospital tray normally used to hold syringes to pour water over the sleeping baby’s head and then tries to move the child who wakes up, howls and seems to be trying to slap the Pope’s hand away.
Then Francis asked the mother to wipe her son’s wet forehead. Then he said to her: “If you go to your church, say that the Pope baptized him.”
Francis smiled and looked perky as he visited children being treated for cancer at Gemelli and handed out large, wrapped chocolate eggs.
Earlier in the day, Francis sent a tweet on Friday that may have been inspired by his current health challenge.
“When we experience them in faith, life’s trials and difficulties serve to purify our hearts, to make them more humble and thus ever more open to God,” wrote Francis. The tweet included a hashtag for Lent, the time of the liturgical year that emphasizes penance and sacrifice in the run-up to the church’s joyful celebration of Easter, which marks the Christian belief that Jesus rose from the dead after being crucified.
The Vatican seemed keen to quickly dispel any concerns about the Pope’s physical fitness to exercise his full office. Almost immediately after announcing a release date for Francis, the Vatican announced that the pope would meet the Prime Minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina for a private audience at the Apostolic Palace on Monday.
Palm Sunday Mass usually attracts tens of thousands of worshipers, including many pilgrims from abroad who flock to Rome for Holy Week.
Francis had already largely stopped celebrating Mass on major Catholic Church holidays because of a chronic knee problem, but continued to preside at ceremonies and preach homilies.
Holy Week appointments include a sustained nightly Stations of the Cross procession with prayers on Good Friday at the Colosseum in Rome and the Easter Mass at 9 St. Peter’s Basilica.
During Wednesday’s hour-long public audience, Francis appeared to be in visible pain at times when moving and being helped by aides.
In July 2021, Francis underwent surgery at Gemelli Polyclinic after suffering from a narrowing of his colon. As a young man in Argentina, Francis had part of a lung removed.