Pope Francis appeared in public for the first time in weeks on Sunday, greeting crowds from a wheelchair in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

It was the first time Francis appeared in public since he briefly addressed crowds when being discharged from the hospital on March 23. The pope suffered a bout of double pneumonia that left him hospitalized for five weeks.

Francis made the unannounced visit near the end of Mass and delivered a brief greeting, all while receiving oxygen via his nose.

“Happy Sunday to everyone,” Francis said. “Thank you so much.”

The Vatican also released a written message from Francis marking Sunday’s Mass, which was specially focused on healthcare workers.

“I ask the Lord that this touch of his love might reach all those who suffer and encourage those who are taking care of them,” said the text.

Doctors overseeing Francis’ care during his stay at Gemelli Hospital in Rome say that they briefly considered ending the pope’s treatment due to his condition.

Medical director Dr. Sergio Alfieri recounted the scenes on Feb. 28 when the 88-year-old suffered a coughing fit and inhaled vomit, prompting staff to have to clear his airways and later put on a non-invasive mechanical ventilation mask to help him breathe.

Pope Francis appears in St. Peter’s Square for the first time in weeks. (Riccardo De Luca/Anadolu via Getty Image)

“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 would not make it,” Alfieri told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

“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,” he reportedly added. 

Pope Francis waves to believers as he leaves the Cercle Cite after a meeting with Luxembourg’s prime minister during a four-day apostolic journey in Luxembourg and Belgium, in Luxembourg City, on Sept. 26, 2024. (Simon Wohlfahrt/AFP/Getty)

Alfieri said to the newspaper that Francis “delegated every type of healthcare decision to Massimiliano Strappetti, his personal healthcare assistant who knows the Pope’s wishes perfectly.”

“Try everything, we won’t give up,” Alfieri recalled Strappetti telling staff at the hospital. “That’s what we all thought, too. And no one gave up”.