Pope Francis was released from hospital on Friday morning, nine days after surgery to repair an abdominal hernia, and his doctor said he was stronger than before.
The pontiff, 86, left Rome’s Gemelli hospital in a wheelchair, smiling and waving to journalists and well-wishers at the main entrance as he was ushered to a waiting car.
“The pope is fine. He is better than before,” Sergio Alfieri, who operated on Francis on June 7, told reporters.
The Vatican has said it will recite midday prayers in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday and resume private audiences next week, but will not attend Wednesday’s general audience in the square “to safeguard his post-operative recovery”.
Francis is expected to receive Cuban President Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel on Tuesday, diplomatic sources told Reuters.
As he was led to his car, Francis was asked about the latest migrant tragedy off the coast of Greece, where at least 79 people drowned in the early hours of Wednesday and hundreds more were missing, possibly dead.
“So much pain, so much pain,” he reportedly told Italian media.
Before returning to the Vatican, Francis stopped to pray in front of an image of the Madonna in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, a custom of his when returning from a trip or from a hospital stay.
Arriving at a Vatican gate, he briefly got out of the car and, standing for a minute, thanked the members of the Italian police escort individually.
Alfieri said the pope was well enough to travel. Francisco travels to Portugal at the beginning of August and to Mongolia at the end of the same month.
“He will be able (to fulfill his duties) better than before because he will no longer have the discomfort. He will be a stronger pope,” Alfieri said.
“He’s already back to work. We asked him to rest a bit and I’m sure he’ll listen to us a little more this time, because he has important commitments that he told us he would respect.”
“The pope told us: ‘Thank you, pray for me, I’m still alive,'” Alfieri said.
Traditionally, the pope takes the entire month of July off, with Sunday blessings his only public appearances, then will have the following month to rest before his travels.
Source: Terra
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