Doctors treating the pope said he can return to the Vatican on Sunday but will need two months of rest. The 88-year-old pontiff was at one stage critically ill with double pneumonia at a hospital in Rome.

Pope Francis will be discharged from hospital on Sunday after more than five weeks, doctors treating him at a hospital in Rome said.

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

Reporters were told that the pope was not completely healed and that a full recovery would take a lot of time. Doctors said Francis must avoid meetings with large groups or those that may leave him exhausted.

Francis to make first public appearance

Earlier Saturday, the Vatican said Francis was set to appear in public for the first time since he was hospitalized with breathing problems on February 14.

Having missed the Angelus prayers for five weeks, the Vatican said the pontiff would offer a blessing and a wave to the crowd from Rome’s Agostino Gemelli hospital at around 12 p.m. local time (1100 GMT) following the traditional Angelus prayer.

It would be the first time that the 88-year-old has been seen in public since he was admitted to hospital.

Since being hospitalized, Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, has been battling double pneumonia, which at one stage left him in a critical condition, needing evolving treatment.

Pope’s health ‘improving’

Earlier this week, the Vatican said the pope’s clinical condition was “improving” and that he was no longer using an oxygen mask.

Until his hospitalization, Francis had not missed the Angelus prayers since he took up the role in March 2013.

It was initially unclear whether Francis would address the crowd from the window of his hospital room or from a balcony, but the Vatican said the pope would not lead the Angelus prayer himself.

Until now, the only glimpse of the pope by the public was a photo released last week showing him at prayer in a hospital chapel.

One senior cardinal said 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 is 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.”

The Vatican said that there is still no indication from doctors as to when the pope would be discharged from the hospital.

However, plans for a meeting with Britain’s King Charles on April 8 have raised the possibility that Francis could be back at his Vatican residence by then.

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

This hospitalization has been the most serious health crisis of his 12-year papacy and the longest he has been out of public view since his election.

Catholics have been praying for the speedy recovery of Francis, the second-oldest pope in history.

Many followers and well-wishers have left flowers, candles and notes for him outside the hospital.