‘I’m still alive,’ quips Pope Francis after discharge from hospital post bronchitis treatment

Pope Francis has been discharged from the Rome hospital where he was being treated for bronchitis. "I'm still alive,"Pope Francis told reportersas he left the hospital.

The Popewas admittedat theAgostino Gemelli University Hospital on Wednesdayafter reportedly experiencing respiratory issues after his weekly public audience. According to the Vatican, Pope France received antibiotics intravenously for his condition, reported Associated Press.

Before leaving, the Popeshared a tender moment with a Roman couple whose daughter, aged five, passed away on Friday night in the hospital. The pope laid a hand on the child's motheras she sobbed.

When media pressed the pontiff with questions, he responded in a voice that was almost a whisper, admitting that hehad been experiencing chest issues, which had led his medical team to take him to the hospital.

The Pope sat in the front seat of the white Fiat 500 that drove away from Gemelli hospital.An Associated Press photographer positioned outside the walled city-state claims that instead of driving directly home, the Pope'smotorcade went right past Vatican City.

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The pope reportedly intended to visit a basilica in Rome that is his favourite. He offered prayers to Rome's St. Mary Major Basilica, where there is an icon of the Virgin Mary, after being discharged from the same hospital in July 2021 following intestinal surgery.

He will attend the Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square on April 9, which marks off Holy Week, according to Vatican authorities who made the announcement on Friday.

(With inputs from agencies)

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