Pope Francis left Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital in Rome Friday morning, nine days after a three-hour operation to repair an abdominal hernia and scarring from an earlier operation.
A brief video clip of the 86-year-old pontiff posted to Twitter by the official Vatican News service showed a tired-but-smiling Francis in a wheelchair speaking with reporters as he left the facility. The news agency quoted Francis as saying “still alive” when asked how he was doing.
“The pope is well. He’s better than before,’’ Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the head of the hospital’s digestive surgery unit and leader of Francis’ surgical team, told reporters as the pope departed, according to The Associated Press.
Despite the smiles, the leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics is expected to again miss public prayer on Sunday. The Vatican has said his public audiences are canceled through June 18.
On Thursday, Francis met with patients in the Pediatric Oncology and Children’s Neurosurgery ward at the hospital. He gave each of the children a rosary and a book, the news agency said.
Earlier, the pope met with and thanked the operating team on the June 7 procedure. He also met with several officials of Catholic University and the Gemelli Polyclinic.
Francis skipped public prayers on Sunday on the advice of his doctors. Following a 2021 surgery to remove a part of his colon, the pope appeared on a balcony to recite the Angelus prayers with well-wishers, but Dr. Alfieri pointed out that was seven days after an operation, not the shorter period seen this year.
The pope still plans to travel to Portugal in early August for World Youth Day and to Mongolia at the end of that month.
• Mark A. Kellner can be reached at mkellner@washingtontimes.com.
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