The 88-year-old pope sat in the front passenger seat of his white Fiat 500L wearing nasal tubes to give him supplemental oxygen as he entered the Perugino gate of Vatican City, where his return brought relief after fears that his illness could be fatal or lead to another papal resignation.

Pope Francis was discharged from a hospital in Rome on March 23 amid health concerns. The pontiff, who was wheeled out onto the balcony of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital before heading back to the Vatican,