Pope Francis plans to appear in public on March 23 for first time in five weeks

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis plans to make his first appearance in more than five weeks on March 23, offering a blessing from the window of his room in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital as he battles double pneumonia, the Vatican said.

Pope Francis, 88, was

admitted to the hospital on Feb 14

with a severe respiratory infection that has required evolving treatment.

The Pope has been seen by the public only once during his hospital stay, in

a photo the Vatican released last week,

showing the pontiff at prayer in a hospital chapel.

Pope Francis wants to come to the hospital window around 12pm on March 23 to give a greeting and blessing, the Vatican said in a brief statement on March 22.

The pope usually offers a weekly noon-time prayer in St Peter’s Square on Sunday.

Pope Francis has not been able to do this since Feb 9, before going to the hospital.

The Vatican said Pope Francis was not expected to deliver the prayer on March 23, in a sign that he is still recovering from pneumonia, but would come to the window for a greeting.

Pope Francis is prone to lung infections because he had pleurisy as a young adult and had part of one lung removed.

His hospitalisation has been the most serious health crisis of his 12-year papacy, and the longest he has been out of public view since his election as pontiff in 2013.

The latest Vatican bulletins about the Pope’s medical condition have been cautiously upbeat.

On March 21, the Vatican said Pope Francis had been reducing his use of high-flow oxygen to help him breathe.

One senior cardinal, however, said on March 21 that it

could take time for the pope to “relearn to speak” after using oxygen

during his hospital stay.

“The pope is doing very well, but high-flow oxygen dries everything out,” said Cardinal Victor Fernandez, the Vatican’s chief doctrine official.

“He needs to relearn how to speak, but his overall physical condition is as it was before.”

The Vatican has not given a timeframe for the Pope’s discharge from hospital, but

plans for a meeting with Britain’s King Charles

on April 8 have raised the possibility that Pope Francis could be back at his Vatican residence by then. REUTERS