Pope Francis made his first public appearance on Sunday after spending more than five weeks in the hospital, where he survived a severe case of pneumonia that doctors said twice threatened the Roman Catholic Church leader's life. The 88-year-old pontiff offered a Sunday blessing from Rome's Gemelli hospital and expressed sadness over the heavy Israeli bombing in Gaza. He was subsequently discharged from the hospital and will return to the Vatican to begin at least two months of rest, rehabilitation, and convalescence. Doctors have said that he should refrain from meeting with big groups of people or exerting himself, but that eventually he should be able to resume all his normal activities.