Pope Francis leaves hospital after operation

By: AFP
Published: 06:44 PM, 14 Jul, 2021
Pope Francis leaves hospital after operation
Caption: A handout photograph taken and released by the Vatican Media on July 11, 2021 shows Pope Francis speaks with a nurse at the Gemelli Hospital, in Rome, where he is recovering from colon surgery.
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Pope Francis on Wednesday left the Rome hospital where the 84-year-old pontiff underwent an operation on his colon on July 4, an AFP photographer said.

The pontiff left the Gemelli University Hospital for the Vatican in a car with darkened windows, the photographer said.

Francis had been admitted after suffering from a type of diverticulitis, an inflammation of pockets that develop in the lining of the intestine.

The Vatican initially said he would be in hospital for about a week, and the pope led the Angelus prayer from his hospital window on Sunday.

On Monday, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said he would stay for a "few more days".

Francis stayed in the same suite used by Pope John Paul II, who also lead the Angelus prayer from there.

The Argentine pontiff temporarily ran a fever last week but a chest and abdomen scan and other tests revealed no particular abnormalities.

Agence France-Presse is an international news agency.