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

The 88-year-old pontiff has been hospitalized for six weeks with pneumonia in both lungs. He will need to rest in the Vatican for at least two months, his doctors said.

Pope Francis was released from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he has been battling double pneumonia for the past five weeks, on Sunday, returning to the Vatican where he will continue his recovery.