Pope Francis has been discharged from the hospital after a successful nine-day recovery from surgery.
Pope Francis left Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital in Rome Friday morning, after a three-hour operation to repair an abdominal hernia and scarring from an earlier operation.
“The Pope is fine. Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the head of the hospital’s intestinal surgery unit and the leader of Francis’ surgical team, informed reporters as the pope left.
Despite the smiles, the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics’ leader is scheduled to skip public prayer again on Sunday.
His public audiences have been canceled by the Vatican until June 18.
Francis visited kids at the hospital’s Pediatric Oncology and Children’s Neurosurgery wards on Thursday. According to the news agency, he handed each of the children a rosary and a book.
