Sergio Alfieri, the hospital's medical and surgical chief, who led the team treating the pope, spoke to an Italian newspaper.

Before leaving the hospital, the Pope gave a thumbs-up to the crowd after he was wheeled out onto the balcony.

A frail Pope Francis returned to the Vatican on Sunday after a five-week hospitalization for life-threatening double pneumonia, and he made a surprise stop at his favorite basilica on the way home ...