Pope Francis made his first public appearance in several weeks on Sunday, greeting onlookers from a wheelchair in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

This marked his first public appearance since a brief address to crowds upon his discharge from the hospital on March 23. He had been hospitalized for five weeks due to a bout of double pneumonia.

The Pope’s visit was unannounced, occurring near the conclusion of Mass. He offered a short greeting while receiving oxygen through his nose.

“Happy Sunday to everyone,” Pope Francis said. “Thank you so much.”

The Vatican also released a written message from Pope Francis, coinciding with the Sunday Mass which had a special focus on healthcare workers.

“I ask the Lord that this touch of his love might reach all those who suffer and encourage those who are taking care of them,” the message read.

Doctors who oversaw Pope Francis’s care during his hospital stay said they briefly considered halting his treatment due to his condition.

Medical director Dr. Sergio Alfieri described an incident on Feb. 28 when the 88-year-old experienced a coughing fit and inhaled vomit. Staff had to clear his airways and subsequently administer a non-invasive mechanical ventilation mask to assist his breathing.

“For the first time I saw tears in the eyes of some of the people around him. People who, I understood during this period of hospitalization, sincerely love him, like a father. We were all aware that the situation had worsened further and there was a risk that he would not make it,” Alfieri told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

“We had to choose whether to stop and let him go or force it and try with all the drugs and therapies possible, running the very high risk of damaging other organs. And in the end we took this path,” he reportedly added. 

Alfieri told the newspaper that Pope Francis “delegated every type of healthcare decision to Massimiliano Strappetti, his personal who knows the Pope’s wishes perfectly.”

“Try everything, we won’t give up,” Alfieri recalled Strappetti telling staff at the hospital. “That’s what we all thought, too. And no one gave up”. 

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