The Pope is to be discharged from hospital on Sunday and will return to his residence in the Vatican after more than a month in hospital battling double pneumonia.
The 88-year-old will need “at least two months” to recover from his ordeal, his doctors said on Saturday evening as they announced his imminent release from the Gemelli Hospital in Rome.
His discharge means that he is likely to be able to meet the King and Queen when they visit the Vatican early next month.
Before he leaves hospital, the pontiff will make his first public appearance since his admission, appearing at the window of his 10th floor hospital suite on Sunday morning to bless the faithful, the Holy See said.
His hospital stay has been the longest of his 12-year papacy, and his medical team said that it would take “a lot of time” for his body to fully recover from the infections he has been battling.
Fears grew for Pope’s life
“The recommendation for a period of convalescence of at least two months is very important,” said Sergio Alfieri, the head of the medical team.
“Further progress will take place at his home, because a hospital – even if this seems strange – is the worst place to recover because it’s where one can contract more infections.”
Luca Carbone, another of the doctors, said Pope Francis’s health “is improving” and added: “We hope that he will soon be able to resume his normal activities.”
The Pope’s recovery comes after weeks of worry over his grave illness, with many Catholics fearing that he would not survive.
He was admitted to hospital on February 14 suffering from bronchitis, which quickly developed into double pneumonia.
As well as having acute respiratory attacks, he developed both anaemia and the early stages of kidney failure, making an eventual recovery seem all the more unlikely.
Vatican correspondents polished up their obituaries of the Jesuit Pope and compiled profiles of his achievements and legacy in readiness for his resignation or death.
But he managed to pull through, despite a general picture of fragile health. He is overweight, has knee problems, has had intestinal surgery, often has to rely on a wheelchair, and as a young man in Argentina had part of a lung removed.
For the last week, briefings from the Vatican indicated that he was making good progress and gradually getting better.
He no longer has to wear a ventilation mask at night and has been able to reduce the high flows of supplemental oxygen that he was relying on during the day.