Pope Francis leaves hospital after operation

A car with Pope Francis on board leaving Gemelli hospital in Rome on July 14, 2021. PHOTO: REUTERS

ROME (AFP) - Pope Francis on Wednesday (July 14) left the Rome hospital where he had undergone an operation on his colon on July 4, an AFP photographer said.

The 84-year-old pontiff left the Gemelli University Hospital for the Vatican in a car with darkened windows, the photographer said.

Pope 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".

Pope Francis stayed in the same suite used by Pope John Paul II, who also led 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.

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