Recovering Pope Francis eats pizza, ready to leave hospital ahead of Palm Sunday

Pope Francis is on the mend and headed home Saturday.

The 86-year-old pontiff enjoyed pizza Thursday at Gemelli Polyclinic, where he’s recovering from bronchitis, according to the Vatican. That’s a good sign for Pope Francis, who the Catholic Herald once wrote had a “pizza obsession.”

Francis was hospitalized in Rome Wednesday and treated with intravenous antibiotics. His recovery comes in time for Palm Sunday, which the Pope expects to attend in St. Peter’s Square. That begins the Catholic Holy Week running through Easter Sunday on April 9.

“Yesterday went well, with a normal clinical recovery,” a Vatican spokesperson said Friday.

The Pope reportedly read a newspaper and got back to his work after breakfast that morning. He also sent a tweet.

“When experienced with faith, the trials and difficulties of life serve to purify our hearts, making them humbler and thus more and more open to God,” he wrote, also reminding Christians to honor Lent.

Lent is a 40-day observance that includes periods of fasting and praying. When it ends Thursday, Francis may again find himself dialing up a delivery. He told a Mexican television station in 2015 that the only drawback to his job was being unable to have a pie on the sly.

“The only thing I would like is to go out one day, without being recognized, and go to a pizzeria for a pizza,” he said.

It’s unclear if Francis will speak during Sunday’s mass, which is generally a long one. The spiritual leader had trouble breathing in the days leading up to his hospitalization. The Vatican immediately clarified he did not have COVID-19. Francis suggested in January 2022 that vaccinations are a “moral obligation.”

Francis is living with only one full lung, due to a respiratory infection in his younger years that lead to part of the other one being removed.

Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re said Francis’ participation in Holy Week celebrations would be limited. Knee problems restricted his ability to celebrate masses prior to his illness, though a hobbled Francis managed to oversee ceremonies and deliver homilies.

With News Wire Services