Pope remains out of public view after return to Vatican

After 38 days in hospital battling double pneumonia almost entirely out of sight, Pope Francis made his first public appearance on Sunday since February 14 and returned to the Vatican.

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But with his doctors prescribing the 88-year-old pontiff another two months of rest to allow his ageing body to fully heal, it is unclear how often people will get to see the leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics in the coming weeks.

The pope left Rome's Gemelli hospital on Sunday and returned to the Casa Santa Marta (St. Martha's House), a small building at the Vatican which has been his home since his election as pontiff in 2013.

Constructed in 1996 as a place for cardinals to stay during a papal conclave to elect a new pope, Santa Marta is structured like a hotel, with guest rooms across five floors, a small cafeteria and a chapel.

But the facility is not generally open to the public. In the years between conclaves, it is primarily a home for many of the priests who work at the Vatican, who have special passes allowing them entry.