Dubai Telegraph - Pope Francis leaves hospital, quips 'I am still alive'

EUR -
AED 3.879454
AFN 71.766172
ALL 98.446538
AMD 408.727287
ANG 1.903424
AOA 962.189651
ARS 1055.136057
AUD 1.630409
AWG 1.901181
AZN 1.789518
BAM 1.961728
BBD 2.132343
BDT 126.201335
BGN 1.9588
BHD 0.398064
BIF 3118.741826
BMD 1.056211
BND 1.421281
BOB 7.297188
BRL 6.105428
BSD 1.056091
BTN 89.136639
BWP 14.496666
BYN 3.456143
BYR 20701.745225
BZD 2.128773
CAD 1.480962
CDF 3026.046048
CHF 0.937129
CLF 0.037557
CLP 1036.439301
CNY 7.636301
CNH 7.645963
COP 4727.78219
CRC 539.429963
CUC 1.056211
CUP 27.989605
CVE 110.599191
CZK 25.276513
DJF 188.054673
DKK 7.458575
DOP 63.873001
DZD 141.196108
EGP 52.131744
ERN 15.843172
ETB 130.910644
FJD 2.402194
FKP 0.833686
GBP 0.831777
GEL 2.883565
GGP 0.833686
GHS 16.976135
GIP 0.833686
GMD 74.991397
GNF 9102.504493
GTQ 8.155953
GYD 220.943428
HKD 8.217753
HNL 26.666577
HRK 7.53423
HTG 138.767993
HUF 406.15981
IDR 16809.289017
ILS 3.948874
IMP 0.833686
INR 89.180057
IQD 1383.48038
IRR 44458.579959
ISK 146.095547
JEP 0.833686
JMD 167.185173
JOD 0.748958
JPY 164.521312
KES 136.515348
KGS 91.231852
KHR 4289.881246
KMF 492.563931
KPW 950.589942
KRW 1479.650439
KWD 0.32489
KYD 0.880043
KZT 523.582077
LAK 23200.543009
LBP 94573.658376
LKR 308.542304
LRD 194.845062
LSL 19.330811
LTL 3.118718
LVL 0.638891
LYD 5.158587
MAD 10.547972
MDL 19.130443
MGA 4948.044906
MKD 61.515768
MMK 3430.533723
MNT 3589.00659
MOP 8.466021
MRU 41.984863
MUR 49.842827
MVR 16.318166
MWK 1831.198548
MXN 21.74186
MYR 4.732353
MZN 67.489547
NAD 19.330811
NGN 1774.287045
NIO 38.86892
NOK 11.740652
NPR 142.624361
NZD 1.797365
OMR 0.406676
PAB 1.056111
PEN 4.024312
PGK 4.184644
PHP 62.056118
PKR 293.325825
PLN 4.325535
PYG 8247.922253
QAR 3.849933
RON 4.976236
RSD 117.044056
RUB 105.092045
RWF 1449.953783
SAR 3.967208
SBD 8.854807
SCR 14.362927
SDG 635.317643
SEK 11.596225
SGD 1.417832
SHP 0.833686
SLE 24.097471
SLL 22148.231865
SOS 603.523631
SRD 37.343937
STD 21861.445383
SVC 9.240923
SYP 2653.762908
SZL 19.339168
THB 36.814269
TJS 11.257603
TMT 3.707302
TND 3.335479
TOP 2.473748
TRY 36.27907
TTD 7.170667
TWD 34.391332
TZS 2809.522312
UAH 43.536853
UGX 3875.711004
USD 1.056211
UYU 44.865568
UZS 13525.870313
VES 47.523829
VND 26827.771874
VUV 125.395551
WST 2.94851
XAF 657.932577
XAG 0.034763
XAU 0.000412
XCD 2.854464
XDR 0.795596
XOF 657.976316
XPF 119.331742
YER 263.843317
ZAR 19.268254
ZMK 9507.174232
ZMW 28.963064
ZWL 340.099669
  • RBGPF

    -0.9400

    59.25

    -1.59%

  • CMSC

    0.0250

    24.635

    +0.1%

  • BCC

    -1.9800

    140.57

    -1.41%

  • BCE

    -0.1350

    27.075

    -0.5%

  • NGG

    0.4850

    62.605

    +0.77%

  • RIO

    -0.1710

    60.449

    -0.28%

  • RELX

    0.0550

    46.175

    +0.12%

  • GSK

    -0.0550

    35.055

    -0.16%

  • BTI

    0.2750

    35.695

    +0.77%

  • JRI

    -0.0100

    13.23

    -0.08%

  • RYCEF

    -0.2900

    6.82

    -4.25%

  • SCS

    -0.1500

    13.22

    -1.13%

  • CMSD

    0.0350

    24.765

    +0.14%

  • VOD

    -0.0200

    8.73

    -0.23%

  • BP

    0.3800

    28.95

    +1.31%

  • AZN

    0.4450

    65.735

    +0.68%

Pope Francis leaves hospital, quips 'I am still alive'
Pope Francis leaves hospital, quips 'I am still alive' / Photo: Vincenzo PINTO - AFP

Pope Francis leaves hospital, quips 'I am still alive'

Pope Francis left hospital on Saturday after a three-night stay to treat bronchitis, stopping to say hello to well-wishers and joking he was "still alive".

Text size:

The 86-year-old pontiff, who was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Wednesday with breathing difficulties, got out of the car transporting him and smiled and joked with the crowd.

Asked by someone how he felt, he quipped twice with a big smile "I am still alive!"

As the crowds clapped, Francis headed off to the Vatican to begin preparations for Holy Week and Easter, the most important week in the Christian calendar.

The pontiff felt unwell Wednesday after a general audience in St Peter's Square, but his condition improved after he was given antibiotics.

On Friday, the pope visited the children's cancer ward at the hospital, handing out chocolate Easter eggs and even baptising a weeks-old baby boy, according to a video published by the Vatican.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Francis had been working earlier on Friday in the hospital's private papal suite on the 10th floor and catching up on newspapers. On Thursday night, he ate pizza with some hospital staff.

The Argentine pope confirmed on Saturday he will preside over Palm Sunday mass in St Peter's Square, the start of a busy week of events leading up to Easter.

Francis' hospitalisation was his second since 2021, when he underwent colon surgery, also at Gemelli.

His increasing health issues over the past year have sparked widespread concern, including speculation that he might choose to retire rather than stay in the job for life.

- 'I was afraid' -

His predecessor, Benedict XVI, quit in 2013, in a radical step not seen since the Middle Ages.

Visitors to St Peter's Square on Friday expressed relief over his recovery.

"I was afraid for the pope," said one 56-year-old Italian tourist who gave his name as Davide.

"But I'm happy he's better, that he's returning. For believers and the Catholic community, it's important," he added.

Francis marked 10 years as the head of the worldwide Catholic Church earlier this month.

He has pushed through major governance reforms and sought to forge a more open, compassionate Church, although he has faced internal opposition, particularly from conservatives.

- Presiding over mass -

He has repeatedly said he would consider stepping down were his health to fail him -- but said last month that for now, he has no plans to quit.

The Vatican, citing medical staff, said on Thursday that Francis had been diagnosed with "infectious bronchitis" requiring antibiotics, and that the treatment had brought about a "marked improvement in his state of health".

The Gemelli hospital is the favoured choice of pontiffs to the point of being dubbed "Vatican 3" by pope John Paul II, who was treated nine times at Gemelli and spent a total of 153 days there.

A Jesuit who seems most happy being among his flock, Francis continues to travel internationally and keep a busy schedule.

But he has been forced to use a wheelchair and a walking stick in the past year because of knee pain, and admitted last summer that he had to slow down.

He said on Thursday he was "touched by the many messages" he was receiving in hospital, thanking on Twitter those praying for his recovery.

Francis' earlier stay at Gemelli in July 2021 lasted 10 days. He was admitted after suffering from a type of diverticulitis, an inflammation of pockets that develop in the lining of the intestine, that required surgery.

In an interview in January, the pope said the diverticulitis had returned.

H.El-Hassany--DT