After a 10-day stay following an abdominal operation, Pope Francis, 86, left Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Friday morning to return to the Vatican, where his health is expected to be further watched ahead of a very busy summer. . The Argentinian Jesuit left the Gemelli Polyclinic in a wheelchair at 8:45 a.m. (06:45 GMT), smiling, greeted by a crowd of faithful and journalists massed at the entrance to the establishment, AFP noted.
“Still alive,” he replied to a reporter asking how he felt. In a large crowd, he delivered a few greetings and thanks before returning to his white Fiat 500, surrounded by an imposing security device.
The Argentinian Jesuit experiences recurring medical problems
Hip problems, knee pain, operations, respiratory infection: the Argentinian Jesuit has experienced recurring medical problems since his election in 2013. Jorge Bergoglio underwent a three-hour operation on June 7 under general anesthesia to resolve painful “adhesions” on his abdominal wall, consequences of his colon operation in July 2021 which had already resulted in a ten-day hospitalization.
Throughout his recovery, the Vatican published daily health bulletins intended to be reassuring, mentioning a “regular evolution”, a good clinical picture and “normal blood tests”.
Besides resting, the pope also returned to work from his room on the 10th floor of the Gemelli, known as the “Hospital of the Popes”, in the same room used on many occasions by John Paul II. His hearings have been canceled until June 18. On Thursday, he visited the pediatric oncology and pediatric neurosurgery department at the bedside of young patients, some of whom had sent him letters, drawings and messages of speedy recovery.
furious rhythm
After lung surgery at the age of 21, the head of the Catholic Church is regularly forced to lighten his schedule due to health problems. In recent months, rumors about the possibility of a renunciation of his office and his succession have redoubled in intensity.
Because it is the third hospitalization of the pope in less than two years. At the end of March, he had already returned to Gemelli Hospital for a respiratory infection, which had required antibiotic treatment for three days. “I’m still alive!” He had already replied, smiling at the journalists and faithful gathered around the hospital when he left. He said he kept “after-effects” from the anesthesia of 2021, which prompted him to rule out knee surgery so far which he has suffered for many months.
In January, he had revealed again to suffer from diverticulitis, an inflammation of the diverticula, hernias or pockets which form on the walls of the digestive system. Despite these repeated medical alerts, François maintains a busy schedule and a steady pace, 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 of his long-awaited visit to Portugal in early August for World Youth Day (WYD) in Lisbon includes around twenty meetings and eleven speeches. He is also due to travel to Mongolia in early September and to Marseille, in the south of France, on September 23.