THE Pope has greeted the crowd as he was seen at the Vatican for the first time since battling with pneumonia.
Pope Francis, 88, made a surprise public appearance at St Peters Square during a special Jubilee Mass for the sick on Sunday.
Crowds of worshippers gathered at the square to celebrate the mass, with no-one there expecting the pontiff to make an appearance.
Heart-warming footage shows the crowd cheering as a beaming Pope Francis was rolled in in a wheelchair.
The pontiff can be seen lifting his hands to wave at the crowd as he is rolled to the front of the altar.
The Pope said in a strong voice: “Good Sunday to everyone. Thank you very much.”
The Pope appeared to be in better health than when he was last seen in public shortly before his release from hospital in March.
The Pope made a brief appearance behind a glass balcony on the fifth floor of Gemelli University Hospital in Rome to greet and bless the waiting crowd.
He looked sickly as he sat in a wheelchair but he made the appearance without the assistance of oxygen.
Francis blessed the crowd, thanked them for coming to speak to him, and pointed out a woman who had brought yellow flowers to wish him well.
He gave a weak sign of the cross before being wheeled back inside.
The Pope was hospitalised on February 14 and spent five weeks in hospital.
During that time he suffered numerous health problems including kidney failure and numerous respiratory crises.
He also battled pneumonia in both lungs, and had to be placed on a ventilator to breathe for him and receive oxygen through a nasal cannula.
Following his battle with double pneumonia the Pope has had to relearn how to speak again.
After the announcement of the Pope’s discharge, Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the medical director at Gemelli, stated that the Pope would require a minimum of two months for rest and rehabilitation during his recovery.
The King and Queen were due to visit the Vatican but had to postpone as the pontiff required an “extended period of rest and recuperation”.
Buckingham Palace made the announcement just two days after Pope Francis left hospital following his life-threatening pneumonia battle.
In light of medical advice recommending an extended period of rest and recuperation for Pope Francis, the palace announced the postponement of the King and Queen’s State Visit to The Holy See by mutual agreement.
“Their Majesties send The Pope their best wishes for his convalescence and look forward to visiting him in The Holy See, once he has recovered.”
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