Vatican: Pope to give blessing from hospital
Pope Francis will follow in the footsteps of St. John Paul II and deliver his weekly Sunday blessing and greeting from the Rome hospital where he is recovering from intestinal surgery, the Vatican said Friday.
The Vatican’s daily medical update said that Francis’ temperature was normal again following the slight fever he ran Wednesday evening. It said his treatment and recovery at Gemelli Polyclinic were proceeding normally, with the pontiff walking, eating, working and celebrating Mass with hospital staff.
Francis, 84, had half of his colon removed July 4 for what the Vatican said was a “severe” narrowing of his large intestine. He is expected to stay at Gemelli through the week, assuming no complications.
The statement said Francis would deliver his noontime Sunday blessing from the 10th floor of the hospital, an appointment that will recall the practice of John Paul, who also delivered greetings from the hospital’s 10th floor during his occasional stays.
Francis was continuing to eat regularly and walk in the corridor after the three-hour surgery Sunday, the Vatican said. It said he had resumed working, “alternating it with moments of reading texts.”
He celebrated Mass in the papal private apartment on Thursday afternoon, “attended by all those assisting him during his hospitalization,” the Vatican said.