after operation
\n ROME
\nPope Francis on Wednesday left the Rome hospital where the head of the world\u2019s 1.2 billion Catholics had undergone an operation on his colon on July 4.
\nThe 84-year old was whisked away from the Gemelli University Hospital in a car with tinted windows and was later spotted returning to his home within the Vatican\u2019s walls.
\nHe stopped off on the way at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore for a quick prayer to \u201cexpress his gratitude for the success of his surgery,\u201d Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement.
\nThe pope also prayed at the central Rome church for \u201call the sick, especially all those he had met during his stay in hospital,\u201d Bruni said.
\nFrancis had been admitted to hospital after suffering from a type of diverticulitis, an inflammation of pockets that develop in the lining of the intestine.
\nThe 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.
\nOn Monday, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said he would stay for a \u201cfew more days.\u201d It was not immediately clear whether Francis\u2019s schedule would immediately return to normal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
after operation ROME Pope Francis on Wednesday left the Rome hospital where the head of the world\u2019s 1.2 billion Catholics had undergone an operation on his colon on July 4. The 84-year old was whisked away from the Gemelli University Hospital in a car with tinted windows and was later spotted returning to his home […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-204136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n