- Pope Francis underwent colon surgery.
- The 84-year-old was admitted to the hospital after inflammation of the intestinal lining.
- He returned to his home within the walls of the Vatican after being hospitalized in the Gemelli University Hospital.
Pope Francis left the Rome hospital on Wednesday, where the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics underwent colon surgery on July 4.
The 84-year-old was taken from the Gemelli University Hospital in a car with tinted windows and was later found back to his home inside the walls of the Vatican.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement that he stopped for a quick prayer on the way to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore to “express his gratitude for the success of the operation.”
Bruni said:
The Pope also prayed for “all the patients, especially all the patients he met during his stay in the Central Church of Rome.”
Francis was admitted to the hospital after suffering from a form of diverticulitis, an inflammation of a pocket formed in the lining of the intestinal tract.
The Vatican initially stated that he would be hospitalized for about a week. On Sunday, the Pope presided over the Three Bells Prayer from his hospital window.
On Monday, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said he would “stay for a few more days”.
Picture | Pope Francis meets Spider-Man
It is not clear whether Francis’ schedule will return to normal immediately.
The pope managed to do some work in the hospital and retained all his powers as pope when he left.
According to the Catholic News Service, a special attendant known as the “Cardinal Camerengo” is ready to take over at death, just as he has always done.
– ‘more tired’ –
As if to avoid questioning his endurance, the Vatican announced on the day Francis was admitted to the hospital that he would travel to Hungary and Slovakia later this year.
According to the Bishop of Scotland, he also hopes to attend the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow in November and is reportedly planning to travel to Greece.
The Pope, who suffers from sciatica, admitted after visiting Iraq earlier this year that travel these days made him “more tired”.
The chronic neuropathy he calls “troublesome guests” causes pain in his back, hips, and legs, and occasionally forces him to cancel official events.
According to the biographer Austen Ivereigh, Francis developed pleurisy—an inflammation of the tissues surrounding the lungs—and nearly died at the age of 21.
Watch | The Pope feels “pain” over the body found in the Canadian Indigenous School
In October 1957, he removed part of a lung.
According to Argentine journalist and doctor Nelson Castro, he had sought to support anxiety before, but now listens to Bach or sips his “mate” (a popular Argentine herbal drink) to resolve anxiety.
The Pope’s ability to manage stress may be tested later this month, when 10 people-including a cardinal-will be charged in the Vatican, including corruption.
Cardinal Angelo Becciu was not only a senior bishop, but also one of his close assistants before Francis was fired and deprived of his cardinal rights last year.
Although Francis’s predecessor, the former Pope Benedict XVI, officially stepped down due to his advanced age, many people speculate that pressure may have caused the impact. His resignation was carried out in the context of the so-called Vattirex scandal.
