Pope Francis to be released from hospital Sunday after 5 weeks fighting life-threatening pneumonia

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis will be released from the hospital on Sunday after 38 days battling a severe case of pneumonia in both lungs that threatened his life on two occasions and raised the prospect — for now put to rest — of a papal resignation or funeral.

The 88-year-old pontiff will require at least two months of rest, rehabilitation and convalescence back at the Vatican during which time he has been discouraged from meeting in big groups or exerting himself, said Dr. Sergio Alfieri, who coordinated Francis’ medical team at Rome’s Gemelli hospital.

But Francis' personal doctor, Dr. Luigi Carbone, said if he continues his steady improvements and rehabilitation, he should eventually be able to resume all his normal activities.

The doctors spoke at a hastily called press conference Saturday evening in the Gemelli hospital atrium, their first in-person update on the pontiff’s condition in a month. They said they were discharging Francis after he registered two weeks of stability and increasing progress in his recovery.

“The Holy Father would have wanted to go home a few days ago, as even he realized he was improving, breathing better, and that he could work longer. But I have to say he was an exemplary patient," Alfieri said. “He listened to the suggestions from me, Dr. Carbone and the rest of the team."

The doctors confirmed he would be released Sunday, after first offering a blessing to the faithful from his hospital suite, the first time he will have been seen by the public since he was admitted Feb. 14. They provided details on the severity of the infection, which he is still being treated for, and Alfieri noted that not all patients who develop such a severe case of double pneumonia survive, much less be released from the hospital.

“When he was in really bad shape, it was difficult that he was in good spirits,” Alfieri said. “But one morning we went to listen to his lungs and we asked him how he was doing. When he replied, 'I'm still alive' we knew he was OK and had gotten his good humor back."

Alfieri confirmed that Francis was still having trouble speaking due to the damage to his lungs and the time he spent on supplemental oxygen and ventilation. But he said such problems were normal and predicted his voice would return.

“When you have a bilateral pneumonia, your lungs get damaged and the respiratory muscles are in difficulty. You lose your voice a bit, like when you speak too high,” Alfieri said. “As for all patients, young or old but especially older ones, you need time for it to come back as it was.”

The Argentine pope, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, was admitted to Gemelli after a bout of bronchitis worsened.

Doctors first diagnosed a complex bacterial, viral and fungal respiratory tract infection and soon thereafter, pneumonia in both lungs. Blood tests showed signs of anemia, low blood platelets and the onset of kidney failure, all of which later resolved after two blood transfusions.

The most serious setbacks began on Feb. 28, when Francis experienced an acute coughing fit and inhaled vomit, requiring he use a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask to help him breathe. He suffered two more respiratory crises a few days later, which required doctors manually aspirate “copious” amounts of mucus, at which point he began sleeping with the ventilation mask at night to help his lungs clear the accumulation of fluids.

At no point did he lose consciousness, and doctors reported he always remained alert and cooperative.

Over the past two weeks, he has stabilized and registered slight improvements. He no longer needs to wear the ventilation mask at night, and is cutting back his reliance on high flows of supplemental oxygen during the day. Doctors said the pope, who uses a wheelchair, had probably lost some weight during his hospital stay.

At his home in the Santa Marta hotel, next to St Peter’s Basilica, Francis will have access to supplemental oxygen and 24-hour medical care as needed, though Carbone said he hoped Francis would progressively need less and less supplemental oxygen.

“The Holy Father is improving, and we hope soon he can resume his normal activity,” Carbone said.

While the pneumonia infection has been successfully treated, Francis will continue to take oral medication for several months to treat the fungal infection in his lungs.

Alfieri said it was actually safer for him to continue his recovery and rehabilitation at the Vatican since hospitals “are the worst place to convalesce because it's the place where you can catch the most infections.”

The Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, declined to confirm any upcoming events, including a scheduled audience April 8 with King Charles III or Francis' participation in Easter services at the end of the month. But Carbone said he hoped Francis might be well enough to travel to Turkey at the end of May to participate in an important ecumenical anniversary.

The Vatican announced that before returning to the Vatican, Francis would appear on Sunday morning to bless faithful from his 10th floor suite at the hospital. While Francis released an audio message on March 6 and the Vatican distributed a photo of him March 16, Sunday’s blessing will be the first live appearance since Francis was admitted for what has become the longest hospitalization of his 12-year papacy.

Colleen Barry contributed from Venice.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

From left, head physician of Vatican's Health and Hygiene Office, Luigi Carbone, pope's spokeperson Matteo Bruni, and Surgeon Sergio Alfieri, speak to journalists, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in the entrance hall of Rome's Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic where Pope Francis is being treated for bilateral pneumonia since Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

From left, head physician of Vatican's Health and Hygiene Office, Luigi Carbone, and Surgeon Sergio Alfieri, speak to journalists, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in the entrance hall of Rome's Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic where Pope Francis is being treated for bilateral pneumonia since Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

From left, head physician of Vatican's Health and Hygiene Office, Luigi Carbone, pope's spokeperson Matteo Bruni, and Surgeon Sergio Alfieri, speak to journalists, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in the entrance hall of Rome's Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic where Pope Francis has been treated for bilateral pneumonia since Feb. 14, 2025 and announce the 88-year old pope will return to The Vatican tomorrow, Sunday Feb. 23. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

FILE - Pope Francis waves as he arrives for his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)

A participant in a mass for the jubilar pilgrims from Naples waits for the start of the celebration under pouring rain in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Participants in a mass for the jubilar pilgrims from Naples wait for the start of the celebration under pouring rain in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Participants in a mass for the jubilar pilgrims from Naples wait for the start of the celebration under pouring rain in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Participants in a mass for the jubilar pilgrims from Naples wait for the start of the celebration on a rainy day in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Saturday, March 22, 2025, while Pope Francis is being treated for bilateral pneumonia at Rome's Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic since Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pontifical Swiss Guards patrol during a mass for the jubilar pilgrims from Naples wait for the start of the celebration on a rainy day in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Saturday, March 22, 2025, while Pope Francis is being treated for bilateral pneumonia at Rome's Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic since Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pontifical Swiss Guards patrol during a mass for the jubilar pilgrims from Naples wait for the start of the celebration on a rainy day in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Saturday, March 22, 2025, while Pope Francis is being treated for bilateral pneumonia at Rome's Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic since Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Participants in a mass for the jubilar pilgrims from Naples wait for the start of the celebration under pouring rain in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Thousands of people marched in Minneapolis Saturday to protest the fatal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration officer there and the shooting of two protesters in Portland, Oregon, as Minnesota leaders urged demonstrators to remain peaceful.

The Minneapolis gathering was one of hundreds of protests planned in towns and cities across the country over the weekend. It came in a city on edge since the killing of Renee Good on Wednesday by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.

“We’re all living in fear right now,” said Meghan Moore, a mother of two from Minneapolis who joined the protest Saturday. “ICE is creating an environment where nobody feels safe and that’s unacceptable.”

On Friday night, a protest outside a Minneapolis hotel that attracted about 1,000 people turned violent as demonstrators threw ice, snow and rocks at officers, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Saturday. One officer suffered minor injuries after being struck with a piece of ice, O’Hara said. Twenty-nine people were cited and released, he said.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey stressed that while most protests have been peaceful, those who cause damage to property or put others in danger will be arrested. He faulted “agitators that are trying to rile up large crowds.”

“This is what Donald Trump wants,” Frey said of the president who has demanded massive immigration enforcement efforts in several U.S. cities. “He wants us to take the bait.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz echoed the call for peace.

“Trump sent thousands of armed federal officers into our state, and it took just one day for them to kill someone,” Walz posted on social media. “Now he wants nothing more than to see chaos distract from that horrific action. Don’t give him what he wants.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says its deployment of immigration officers in the Twin Cities is its biggest ever immigration enforcement operation. Trump's administration has said both shootings were acts of self-defense against drivers who “weaponized” their vehicles to attack officers.

Connor Maloney said he was attending the Minneapolis protest to support his community and because he's frustrated with the immigration crackdown.

“Almost daily I see them harassing people,” he said. “It’s just sickening that it’s happening in our community around us.”

Steven Eubanks, 51, said he felt compelled to attend a protest in Durham, North Carolina, on Saturday because of the “horrifying” killing of Good in Minneapolis.

“We can’t allow it,” Eubanks said. “We have to stand up.”

Indivisible, a social movement organization that formed to resist the Trump administration, said hundreds of protests were scheduled in Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, Florida and other states.

In Minneapolis, a coalition of migrant rights groups organized the demonstration that began in a park about half a mile from the residential neighborhood where the 37-year-old Good was shot on Wednesday. Marchers carried signs calling for ICE to leave and voiced support for Good and immigrants.

A couple of miles away, just as the demonstration began, an Associated Press photographer witnessed heavily armed officers — at least one in Border Patrol uniform — approach a person who had been following them. Two of the agents had long guns out when they ordered the person to stop following them, telling him it was his “first and final warning.”

The agents eventually drove onto the interstate without detaining the driver.

Protests held in the neighborhood have been largely peaceful, in contrast to the violence that hit Minneapolis in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd in 2020. Near the airport, some confrontations erupted on Thursday and Friday between smaller groups of protesters and officers guarding the federal building used as a base for the Twin Cities crackdown.

O’Hara said city police officers have responded to calls about cars abandoned because their drivers have been apprehended by immigration enforcement. In one case, the car was left in park and in another case a dog was left in the vehicle.

He said immigration enforcement activities are happening “all over the city” and that 911 callers have been alerting authorities to ICE activity, arrests and abandoned vehicles.

The Trump administration has deployed thousands of federal officers to Minnesota under a sweeping new crackdown tied in part to allegations of fraud involving Somali residents. More than 2,000 officers were taking part.

Some officers moved in after abruptly pulling out of Louisiana, where they were part of another operation that started last month and was expected to last until February.

Three congresswomen from Minnesota attempted to tour the ICE facility in the Minneapolis federal building on Saturday morning and were initially allowed to enter but then told they had to leave about 10 minutes later.

U.S, Reps. Ilhan Omar, Kelly Morrison and Angie Craig accused ICE agents of obstructing members of Congress from fulfilling their duty to oversee operations there.

“They do not care that they are violating federal law,” Craig said after being turned away.

A federal judge last month temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing policies that limit congressional visits to immigration facilities. The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by 12 members of Congress who sued in Washington, D.C. to challenge ICE’s amended visitor policies after they were denied entry to detention facilities.

Associated Press writers Allen Breed in Durham, North Carolina, and Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed.

People place flowers for a memorial at the site where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Protesters gather during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Friday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Protesters gather during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Demonstrators protest outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Demonstrators march outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Demonstrators march outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Rep. Kelly Morrison D-Minn., center, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., second from the right, and Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., far right, at the Bishop Whipple Federal Building, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey holds a news conference as Police Chief Brian O'Hara listens, on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Protesters gather during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Federal agents stand outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building as protesters gather in Minneapolis, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Federal agents stand outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building as protesters gather in Minneapolis, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Protesters gather during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Federal agents look on as protesters gather during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

A woman holds a sign for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis earlier in the week, as people gather outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

Two people sit in the street with their hands up in front of Minnesota State Patrol during a protest and noise demonstration calling for an end to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Minnesota State Patrol officers are seen during a protest and noise demonstration calling for an end to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Minnesota State Patrol officers are seen during a protest and noise demonstration calling for an end to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Two people sit in the street holding hands in front of Minnesota State Patrol during a protest and noise demonstration calling for an end to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)