Pope to be discharged from the hospital on Sunday

Pope Francis will be discharged from the Gemeli Hospital in Rome on Sunday, the doctors who treat him said.

The 88-year-old recovers from double pneumonia and will need at least two months of vacation in the Vatican after leaving the hospital.

He has been seen by the public only once since he was admitted to hospital on February 14, at Photo issued by the Vatican last week, Which showed him he was praying in a hospital chapel.

The Vatican had said on Friday that the pope’s condition was improving, although an employee stated that he might need to “learn to speak” after his prolonged use of high -flow oxygen therapy.

“The Pope is doing very well, but the high -stream oxygen dries everything. He has to learn how to speak, but his overall physical condition is as before,” said Cardinal Victor Fernandez on Friday, Reuters reported.

The Vatican on Friday added that the pope’s condition is stable, with some improvements in breathing and mobility.

He confirmed that he no longer uses mechanical ventilation for breathing at night, but instead receives oxygen through a small tube under his nose. During the day it uses less oxygen with high flow.

Earlier this month, an audio record of Pope Francis, who speaks his native Spanish, is played at St. Peter Square in Vatican City.

His voice was breathless when he thanked the Catholic versions for their prayers.

The cardinal, who is the head of the Vatican doctrine service, rejected speculation that the pontiff would follow his predecessor Benedict XVI and resigned the papacy.

Asked if he believed that the Pope could be written in time for Easter, which falls on April 20, the cardinal replied that he did not know.

Pope Francis has spent nearly 12 years as a leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

Throughout his life, he has suffered a number of health problems, including some of his lungs at 21, making it more proposed to infections.