Following a hernia procedure, Pope Francis left the hospital on Friday and made his way to the Vatican, where his health will come under increased scrutiny before a busy summer.
At 8:45 a.m. (06:45 GMT), a beaming Francis exited the Gemelli hospital in Rome on a wheelchair and thanked the onlookers.
Since his election in 2013, the 86-year-old has experienced a number of health concerns, including hip and knee discomfort, weight increase, an inflamed colon, and respiratory infections.
On June 7, the Argentine underwent a three-hour procedure under general anesthesia to have a severe hernia that had developed at the location of a prior surgery scar removed.
Since 2021, he had been hospitalized three times.
Doctors said he was cheerful on waking after last week’s operation, cracking jokes with the medical team, and the hospital has published regular updates since then detailing his steady recovery.
The Vatican cancelled papal audiences until June 18 to give the pontiff time to recover.
But Francis was quick to start working again from his suite in Rome’s Gemelli hospital, which is the favoured choice of pontiffs to the point of being dubbed “Vatican III” by John Paul II.
He had quipped that “Vatican number one” was St. Peter’s Square, Vatican number two was the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, and the Gemelli was number three.
Doctors said Thursday that Francis could go home on Friday morning. The pontiff spent his last day doing the rounds in a wheelchair and thanking the doctors and nurses who looked after him.
He also visited children in the paediatric oncology and child neurosurgery department, some of whom had sent him letters and drawings wishing him a speedy recovery, the Vatican said.
– Trips –
All eyes will be on Francis to see how he manages the return to a normal schedule once home.
Pope Francis To Undergo An Operation For Hernia Today
His agenda is particularly busy over the coming months, with trips to Portugal and Mongolia in August.
The programme for his visit to Portugal from August 2 to 6 for World Youth Day in Lisbon is packed, with around 20 meetings and a number of events.
The head of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, is regularly forced to reduce his schedule due to health problems.
In July 2021, he underwent surgery at the Gemelli for a type of diverticulitis, an inflammation of small bulges or pockets that can develop in the lining of the intestine.
Francis was also hospitalised for three nights in March with a respiratory infection.
In recent months, rumours about his possible resignation have intensified.
He has repeatedly said he would consider stepping down if his health failed him, following the example of his predecessor, Benedict XVI.
Francis acknowledged in July 2022 that he needed to slow down.
“At my age and with this limitation, I have to save myself a little bit to be able to serve the Church,” he said. “Or, alternatively, to think about the possibility of stepping aside.”
In March, however, he insisted that he had no current plans to quit.
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