After a ten-day stay in hospital for abdominal surgery, Pope Francis, 86, left Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Friday to return to the Vatican, where his health should be under even closer scrutiny ahead of a busy summer.
After a ten-day stay following abdominal surgery, Pope Francis left for the Vatican on Friday morning, where his health is likely to come under even closer scrutiny ahead of a busy summer.
The Argentinian Jesuit left the Gemelli Polyclinic in a wheelchair at 08:45 (06:45 GMT), smiling as he was greeted by a crowd of faithful and journalists massed at the entrance to the establishment, AFP noted.
On June 7, Jorge Bergoglio underwent a three-hour operation under general anaesthetic to remove painful “adhesions” on his abdominal wall, consequences of his colon operation in July 2021 which had already led to a ten-day hospital stay.
In addition to resting, the Pope has also returned to work from his room on the 10th floor of the Gemelli, known as the “hospital of the popes”… On Thursday, he visited the pediatric oncology and children’s neurosurgery wards to see young patients, some of whom had sent him letters, drawings and messages wishing him a speedy recovery.
Having undergone lung surgery at the age of 21, the head of the Catholic Church is regularly forced to reduce his schedule due to health problems. This is the Pope’s third hospitalization in less than two years. In recent months, rumors about his possible resignation and succession have intensified.
Nevertheless, Francis maintains a busy schedule and a sustained rhythm, with sometimes a dozen appointments in the same morning. He also continues to travel, with a particularly full agenda in the coming months. The program for his eagerly-awaited visit to Portugal in early August for the World Youth Day (WYD) in Lisbon includes some twenty meetings and eleven speeches.
Maïssa Ben Fares, with AFP
