Pope Francis to Leave Hospital on Friday, Vatican Says

Pope Francis will be discharged from Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Friday, the Vatican said in a statement.

(Bloomberg) — Pope Francis will be discharged from Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Friday, the Vatican said in a statement.

He underwent abdominal surgery to repair a hernia and remove internal scar tissues last week and his recovery has been proceeding well, according to the statement. On Thursday he visited other patients at the hospital and ate with his staff.

Francis, 86, had already been hospitalized in March with a pulmonary infection. 

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Francis has been spiritual leader to the world’s roughly 1.3 billion Catholics since his predecessor’s abdication in 2013. He is the first pope from the Americas, the first non-European to attain the post since Gregory III in the 8th century and the first Jesuit to ever hold the position. 

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