Pope Francis to be discharged from hospital on March 23

Pope Francis to be released from hospital after battling severe pneumonia, requiring rest and rehabilitation for recovery.

Pope Francis will be released from hospital on Sunday (March 21, 2025) after 38 days battling a severe case of pneumonia in both lungs that threatened his life on two occasions when he suffered acute respiratory crises, his doctors said Saturday (March 22, 2025).

Dr. Sergio Alfieri, who coordinated Pope Francis’ medical team at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, said Pope Francis will require at least two months of rest and rehabilitation as he continues recovering back at the Vatican. But his personal doctor, Dr. Luigi Carbone, said if he continues his steady improvements to date, he should be able to resume his normal activity.

The doctors spoke at a hastily-called press conference Saturday (March 22, 2025) evening in the Gemelli hospital atrium, their first in-person update on the pontiff’s condition in a month.

They provided details on the severity of the infection, which he is still being treated for, and the two respiratory crises that marked the gravest threats to his life. They confirmed he would be released Sunday (March 21, 2025), after first offering a blessing to the faithful from his hospital suite, the first time he will have been seen by the public since he was admitted February 14.

“When he was in really bad shape, it was difficult that he was in good spirits,” Alfieri said. “But one morning we went to listen to his lungs and we asked him how he was doing. When he replied, ‘I’m still alive’ we knew he was OK and had gotten his good humor back.”

Alfieri confirmed that Pope Francis was still having trouble speaking due to the damage to his lungs and the time he spent on supplemental oxygen and ventilation. But he said such problems were normal and predicted his voice would return.

“When you have a bilateral pneumonia, your lungs get damaged and the respiratory muscles are in difficulty. You lose your voice a bit, like when you speak to high,” Alfieri said. “As for all patients, young or old but especially older ones, you need time for it to come back as it was.”