June 15, 2023 GMTIn this image distributed by Vatican Media, Pope Francis visits the Pediatric Oncology ward of the Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic in Rome Thursday, June 15, 2023, where he's recovering from abdominal surgery since June 7. Francis, 86, underwent the operation to repair a hernia in the abdominal wall and to remove scar tissue that had formed following intestinal surgery in previous years.
ROME — The Vatican on Thursday released the first images of Pope Francis since his June 7 abdominal surgery, showing him in his wheelchair visiting the children’s cancer ward in a sign he is getting ready to be discharged soon from the hospital. Francis appeared in good health in the images, in which he is seen in the corridor of the pediatric oncology ward of Rome’s Gemelli hospital, meeting with children, their parents and medical staff. In one photo, he is shown elsewhere speaking with a couple in a private room, the man in a wheelchair.
The Vatican said on Wednesday that Francis was expected to be released from Gemelli “in the coming days.” When he was hospitalized in 2021, Francis paid a visit to the children’s cancer ward