VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis will be discharged from the hospital on Sunday after more than five weeks and will need two months of rest at the Vatican, doctors treating him at a hospital in Rome said on Saturday.

In a news conference on Saturday evening, Gemelli medical director Dr. Sergio Alfieri said Francis would need at least two months of rest after battling a life-threatening case of pneumonia in both lungs

Francis, 88, was admitted to the hospital on February 14 with a severe respiratory infection that has required evolving treatment, reports Reuters.

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The Vatican said earlier on Saturday that Francis also planned to make his first appearance in more than five weeks on Sunday, offering a blessing from the window of his room at Rome's Gemelli Hospital, where he has been battling double pneumonia.

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

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. 

Francis wants to come to the hospital window around noon on Sunday to give a greeting and blessing, the Vatican said in its brief statement on Saturday.

The pope usually offers a weekly noontime prayer in St. Peter's Square on Sundays. Francis has not been able to do this since February 9, before going to the hospital.

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One senior cardinal said on Friday that it could take time for the pope to "relearn to speak" after using oxygen during his hospital stay, but that his "overall physical condition is as it was before."

Pope has no plans to step down

The hospital stay has been the longest in Francis's papacy and has raised questions over who might lead religious events leading up to Easter, the holiest period in the Christian calendar.

The Vatican's press office on Wednesday said that no decision had been taken yet.
Speculation also abounds that Francis could step down due to his fragility, following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Benedict XVI.

But when asked whether resignation was a possibility, Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin told reporters on Monday: "No, no, no, absolutely not."