Pope Francis discharged from hospital after three days of treatment for bronchitis

Pope Francis is better. The 86-year-old pontiff was released on Saturday April 1 from the Roman hospital where he had been admitted on Wednesday due to bronchitis. “I’m still alive”, he joked in front of the many faithful and journalists gathered around the Gemelli hospital in Rome. Back in the Vatican, iHe will preside on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square at the Palm Sunday Mass, which marks the start of the Easter celebrations.

Francis, who suffers from chronic health problems and uses a wheelchair due to knee pain, stayed in the private apartment created for the popes in 1981 on the 10th floor of the Gemelli University Hospital in Rome. The state of health of the bishop of Rome, who had been hospitalized on Wednesday after breathing difficulties, improved rapidly and he resumed work on Thursday.

On Friday, the 86-year-old Argentinian Jesuit made a surprise visit to the hospital’s pediatric oncology ward, bringing the children chocolate eggs, rosaries and books. François also baptized a newborn baby a few weeks old.