Pope Francis has appeared in public for the first time since his return to the Vatican after his battle with a serious case of pneumonia put him ‘on the brink of death’.

The Pope made a surprise appearance as he mingled with crowds while being wheeled through Saint Peter’s Square in a wheelchair just two weeks after leaving hospital.

‘A good Sunday to all. Thank you very much’, the 88-year old Pope said after a mass dedicated to the sick.

Francis had been out of public view since March 23, when he had given a short greeting before leaving Rome’s Gemelli hospital after more than five weeks of treatment in the most serious health crisis of his 12-year papacy.

The pope, in a previously unannounced move, came out to the square shortly before noon at the end of the celebration of a Mass for the Catholic Church’s Jubilee year.

Coming in front of the main altar for the service in bright sunshine, Francis waved to the crowds, before speaking briefly to greet the crowd. 

Surrounded by a mass of smartphones and cameras, and attached to nasal breathing tubes, his voice was fragile but more audible than when he left the Gemelli hospital on 23 March. His last public appearance was 14 February.

Francis is, in theory, undergoing two months of convalescence following his life-threatening health scare, with strict rest, no public activity and no contact with crowds.

Catholics and others worldwide have been praying for the Pope’s speedy recovery, with many leaving flowers, candles and notes for him outside the Gemelli hospital during his hospitalisation.

A number of leading cardinals too held prayer services at the Vatican to pray for the Pontiff’s good health, with thousands gathering on a daily basis to recite the Rosary Prayer. 

Even as he remained in hospital, the Pope expressed his gratitude for the widespread support he has received.

The Pontiff too continued holding almost nightly phone calls with Palestinian Catholics in Gaza amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. 

In updates on X posted during his hospital stay, the 88-year-old also wished his best to Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan and Kivu in early March.  

A doctor involved in the Pope’s treatment at the Gemelli hospital said the pontiff came close to dying and told hospital staff ‘it’s bad’ as they battled to save his life.

In an interview with Corriere Della Sera, Professor Sergio Alfieri, who was on the Gemelli hospital team treating the Pontiff, gave rare insights into his treatment and his brush with death.

Late February the world held its breath as the Vatican announced the Argentine Pope – who lost part of his lung as a child – was struggling to breathe and needed oxygen.

Professor Alfieri said: ‘The worst was the night of February 28. He whispered: “it’s bad”. Those who were next to him had tears in their eyes.

‘For the first time I saw tears in the eyes of some of the people around him. People who, I understood during this period of hospitalization, sincerely love him, like a father.

‘We were all aware that the situation had worsened further and there was a risk that he wouldn’t make it.

‘We had to choose whether to stop and let him go or force it and try with all the drugs and therapies possible, running the very high risk of damaging other organs. And in the end, we took this path.’ 

When asked if the Pope had known he was at risk of dying Professor Alfieri said: ‘Yes, also because he was always alert. Even when his condition worsened, he was fully conscious.

‘That evening was terrible, he knew, like us, that he might not survive the night. We saw the man who was suffering. However, from the first day he asked us to tell him the truth and he wanted us to tell the truth about his condition.’

Professor Alfieri also revealed how Pope Francis almost choked to death while having a meal and said: ‘We were emerging from the hardest period, while he was eating Pope Francis had a regurgitation and inhaled.

It was the second really critical moment because in these cases – if not promptly rescued – you risk sudden death in addition to complications in the lungs which were already the most compromised organs.

‘It was terrible, we really thought we wouldn’t make it,’ Alfieri said.