THE Pope has been discharged from hospital and made his first public appearance in five weeks, after a long hospitalisation for bilateral pneumonia.

On Sunday, he came to a balcony of the Gemelli Hospital, in Rome, and waved to supporters. He spoke briefly to the crowd, thanking them for their support, before blessing them. Shortly afterwards, he was driven to the Vatican, where he will continue his convalescence.

Pope Francis was hospitalised on 14 February with bilateral pneumonia. His condition fluctuated, but had shown steady improvement in recent weeks (News, 7 March).

Detailed health updates have been provided by the Holy See. The Pope has continued to conduct some business while in hospital, such as issuing a decree to set up a new body in an attempt to improve the Vatican’s financial situation (News, 7 March).

In remarks issued on Sunday, the Pope expressed sadness at the “resumption of heavy Israeli bombing on the Gaza Strip, causing many deaths and injuries”.

On Tuesday, Palestinian health authorities announced that more than 400 people had been killed overnight, after the collapse of ceasefire talks (News, 19 March).

The Pope called for the bombing to stop, and for talks between Israel and Hamas to resume, so that “all hostages may be released and a final ceasefire reached”.

He praised the dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and prayed that recent talks in the South Caucasus might be a “sign of hope that other conflicts, too, may find a path to resolution through dialogue and goodwill”.

Agreement on a peace deal in the South Caucasus was reached last week, news reports say. Armenia and Azerbaijan have long been in conflict over the contested enclave Nagorno-Karabakh. In 2023, the then Archbishop of Canterbury met Armenian refugees from the area after Azerbaijan took control of the territory (News, 6 October 2023).