Pope Francis was discharged from a Rome hospital and returned home to the Vatican on Wednesday, 10 days after undergoing planned surgery to remove half his colon.
On his way home from Gemelli Hospital, the pope stopped to pray at the Basilica of St. Mary Major.
According to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni, the pope visited the Marian icon Salus Populi Romani. There he “expressed his gratitude for the success of his surgery and offered a prayer for all the sick, especially those he had met during his stay in hospital.”
The Vatican has said that the pope is making “normal clinical progress” in his recovery.
While in hospital, Francis made a visit to the Department of Pediatric Oncology on the 10th floor of the hospital.
The Vatican press office distributed photographs of the pope walking through the ward to applause from medical workers and blessing children undergoing treatment.
Then young cancer patients joined Pope Francis as he led the Sunday Angelus from a hospital balcony. It was his first public outing since the operation.
Among the many patients [Pope Francis] has met during these days, he addressed a special thought to those who are bedridden and cannot return home:
“May they live this time as an opportunity, even if experienced in pain, to open themselves with tenderness to their sick brother or sister in the next bed, with whom they share the same human frailty.”
Francis will have several more weeks to recover before travelling again in September.
There are plans for him to visit Hungary and Slovakia from Sept. 12-15. Then, in November, he will visit Glasgow, Scotland, to participate in the COP26 climate conference.
Other possible trips are also under review.