Pope waves to supporters from hospital balcony, says ‘thank you’

Pope Francis greeted and thanked the faithful from a balcony of Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Sunday, the first time the 88-year-old has been seen in public since his admission on February 14.

“Thank you, everyone,” a weak-sounding Francis said into a microphone, as he sat in a wheelchair waving gently to hundreds of people gathered below, doing a thumbs-up sign.