Immediately before leaving Rome’s Gemelli hospital after more than five weeks of treatment for breathing difficulties, double pneumonia and infections, Pope Francis greeted hundreds of people who gathered outside the hospital March 23.

Pope Francis will return to his residence in the Vatican March 23 after spending 38 days in Rome’s Gemelli hospital for treatment of double pneumonia, his doctors announced.

Pope Francis continues to show small signs of improvement and spends his days following through on all his therapies, doing some light work and praying, according to the Vatican press office.

The papal preacher urged cardinals and senior officials of the Roman Curia to remain firmly anchored in Christ through lives of humility, conversion and fidelity, especially during the Holy Year, a time meant to rekindle Christian hope.

Catholic theologians and other experts discussed the impact of Pope Francis’ pontificate on issues, particularly migration, as the pope remained in the hospital during a March 19 panel hosted by the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University.

Students around the world now have a chance to be an explorer-restorer of the 519-year-old basilica thanks to a new online educational opportunity created by Minecraft Education, Microsoft’s game-based learning platform, and with the help of St. Peter’s Basilica and Vatican City State.

The Catholic Church needs to expand its safeguarding efforts to include the new threats and opportunities posed by artificial intelligence, top organizers of a Vatican conference said.

Pope Francis no longer needs the “noninvasive mechanical ventilation” he has used most nights since experiencing a breathing “crisis” Feb. 28, his doctors reported in a bulletin released by the Vatican press office March 19.

Amid widespread uncertainty and social fragmentation, Pope Francis urged young people to embrace their vocation as “pilgrims of hope,” offering their lives generously in service to others and as a response to God’s love.

Change can be frightening, but the Holy Spirit encourages the faithful to face their fears, follow Jesus’ light and be “born again,” Pope Francis said in a prepared text.