Pope Francis returned to the Vatican on Friday after he was released from a Rome hospital following abdominal surgery for a hernia, the third time in two years that the 86-year-old pontiff has been hospitalized.
Francis left the Policlinico A. Gemelli hospital around 8:45, nine days after surgeons operated on what is known as an incisional hernia, typically the consequence of previous operations, that had been causing painful intestinal blockages. He arrived at the Vatican just after 10, entering through a side gate, and not stopping to speak to the reporters crowded outside.
The pope smiled as he left the hospital in a wheelchair along a sidewalk lined with dozens of well-wishers. Reporters and photographers jostled for his attention, but the pope did not stop. Before getting into the front seat of his car, he shook hands with Sergio Alfieri, the surgeon who had operated on him, and waved to the crowd.
A reporter for the state broadcaster RAI said she had asked the pope how he was, and he told her: “Still alive.” Asked about the migrants who drowned in the Mediterranean off the Greek coast earlier this week, Francis replied: “So much pain.”
Dr. Alfieri told reporters that the pope had thanked him and the medical staff, and that he had spoken to one health worker who was not well. “It was a very touching moment,” he said.
On his way to the Vatican, the pope detoured to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, near Rome’s main train station, where he prayed before a venerated icon of the Virgin Mary, which he usually does after returning from trips abroad.
The pope entered the basilica in a wheelchair, while tourists looked on. After leaving the basilica, the pope “stopped briefly” to greet an order of nuns meeting for their general assembly, the Vatican said in a statement.
Arriving at the Vatican, through a side door near the guesthouse where he lives, Francis got out of the car to shake hands with police officers.
Doctors have cautioned that Francis should avoid exerting himself in the coming weeks to ensure that his wounds heal properly. He is scheduled to visit Portugal for World Youth Day events from Aug. 2 to Aug. 6, and then Mongolia from Aug. 31 to Sept. 4.
Dr. Alfieri told reporters Friday morning that the pope would be able to handle the trips “better than before,” because “he’s a stronger pope.”
Last Saturday, Dr. Alfieri, the director of abdominal and endocrine sciences at the Gemelli hospital, told reporters that doctors had advised Francis not to rush his recovery and to remain in the hospital until he could properly heal, otherwise he risked going under the knife again. On Friday, he told reporters that the pope would have to recuperate, “like everyone” who undergoes surgery.
Francis’ nine-day recovery proceeded regularly, according to daily Vatican statements, and the pope gradually increased his activities. On Thursday, Francis met with the hospital’s medical team and administrators “in a sign of gratitude.”
Using a wheelchair, Francis also visited young patients in the pediatric cancer and child neurosurgery ward to thank them for the “numerous letters, drawings and messages” they had sent him during his stay.
The pope has been dealing with various medical issues, and the abdominal surgery represented the second time that Francis has faced a significant health matter during his 10-year papacy. He had roughly 13 inches of his large intestine removed in 2021 because of what the Vatican said was inflammation that caused a narrowing of his colon.
More recently, he was hospitalized in late March for bronchitis at the Gemelli, where popes are often treated. He also has a problem with his right knee and recurrent episodes of sciatica, a nerve condition that causes back, hip and leg pain.
Francis said at the beginning of his pontificate that he envisioned serving only a few years, and he has said since that he would resign if failing health made it impossible for him to run the church.
Soon after he was elected, he praised his predecessor, Benedict XVI, the first pope in almost 600 years to resign, for having the courage to step down. Benedict died in December.
But after his surgery in 2021, Francis told a Spanish-language radio station that he had never thought about quitting while suffering from poor health. He said this year that he viewed the pontificate as a lifelong mission, telling a group of Jesuits in the Democratic Republic of Congo that he thought “the pope’s ministry is ad vitam,” using the Latin term “for life.”
In an interview in January, Francis told The Associated Press that he was in good shape for his age. “I’m in good health. For my age, I’m normal,” he said, adding, “I might die tomorrow, but it’s under control. I’m in good health.”
The Vatican said that the pope’s audiences would be canceled until June 18 as a precautionary measure.
The Vatican said in a statement that Francis would deliver the Angelus prayer and address on Sunday, and that other audiences in coming days were confirmed. But the pope would not hold his general audience on June 21, “to safeguard the Holy Father’s post-surgery recovery,” the statement said.
