A visibly weak but resilient Pope Francis returned to the Vatican on Sunday, following a life-threatening five-week battle with pneumonia, marking the end of his longest hospital stay since becoming pope.

Before arriving home, the 88-year-old pontiff made a surprise detour to St. Mary Major Basilica, a personal tradition of his, where he paid homage to his beloved icon of the Madonna, Salus Populi Romani—a revered Byzantine-style painting he visits after each foreign trip.

Though he did not exit the vehicle, Francis handed a bouquet of flowers to Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko to place before the icon on his behalf.

Francis was seen seated in the front passenger seat of the car, breathing with the help of nasal oxygen tubes, as his motorcade passed through the Perugino Gate into Vatican City.

Earlier, at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, he briefly appeared on a balcony to greet a crowd of well-wishers. Giving a faint thumbs up and a weak sign of the cross, the pontiff smiled and joked, “I see this woman with the yellow flowers. Brava!”

The crowd responded with chants of “Viva il Papa!” and “Papa Francesco!”, including several patients who had been wheeled outside to witness the moment.

According to the medical team, Francis will require two full months of rest and limited activity. He is to avoid large gatherings and minimize physical exertion as he recovers.

Doctors say the pope no longer has pneumonia, but his age and existing respiratory vulnerabilities—he had part of a lung removed as a young man—mean his recovery must be carefully managed.

“Eventually, he should be able to resume his normal responsibilities,” doctors said during a Saturday evening press briefing.

This recent hospitalization—his second major one in two years—was the longest of Francis’s 12-year papacy, and the second-longest for any pope in modern history.

It prompted concern and prayer from Catholics around the world, as updates on his condition fluctuated over the 38-day period.

Among those relieved by his return was Dr. Rossella Russomando, a physician visiting from Salerno.

“Today I feel great joy,” she said. “It’s proof that the rosaries and prayers offered across the world truly brought grace.”

For now, Pope Francis will remain largely out of public view as he recovers within the Vatican. His brief but heartfelt appearances have already brought comfort to the faithful—and signaled that, while frail, the pope’s spirit remains intact.