ROME — Pope Francis left Rome’s Gemelli hospital Friday morning, nine days after having surgery for abdominal hernia and scarring.

The 86-year-old Pontiff had resumed work from the hospital after his three-hour surgery to repair a hernia in his abdominal wall was completed without complications. It was the third time in two years that he was hospitalized.

A cloud of bodyguards, journalists and devotees surrounded him on his short walk to the vehicle that was to take him to the Vatican.

Three months ago, in March, he was hospitalized after suffering from acute pneumonia. In the same hospital, he underwent colon surgery in 2021 and was discharged 10 days later, although his convalescence was much longer. — Euronews