Pope Francis made his first public appearance at the Vatican since leaving hospital, being taken into St. Peter's Square to greet the public gathered.

Before leaving the hospital, Francis gave a thumbs up and acknowledged the crowd after he was wheeled out onto the balcony overlooking the main entry.

The Pope's doctors gave their first in-person update on his condition in a month, in a sign that Francis has made good and steady progress in his battle against double pneumonia.

Doctors said the 88-year-old pope remains stable and has consolidated improvements in recent days, as determined by blood tests and positive responses to drug treatments.

The 88-year-old Francis spent 20 minutes in the Gemelli hospital chapel, praying and doing some work in between rest and respiratory and physical therapy, the Vatican said.

The crises were a new setback in what has become a more than two-week battle by the 88-year-old pope to overcome a complex respiratory infection.

The Vatican distributed a message from the pope in which he thanked his doctors for their care and well-wishers for their prayers after he skipped his weekly noon blessing.

Doctors said it would take a day or two to evaluate how and if the Friday afternoon episode impacted Francis’ overall clinical condition.

The development marked a setback in what had been two successive days of increasingly upbeat reports from doctors treating Pope Francis.

Reverend Richard Smith with the Archdiocese of Edmonton has been appointed by Pope Francis as the next Archbishop of Vancouver.