Pope still in rehab treatment at hospital

Director of press office says continued treatment should allow Francis to return to the Vatican "as soon as possible."

“The Holy Father is continuing the planned treatment and rehabilitation, which will allow him to return to the Vatican as soon as possible,” according to Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican’s press office, in a statement July 13. The 84-year-old Pope underwent colon surgery on July 4.

“Among the many patients he has met these days, he addresses a special thought to those who are bedridden and cannot return home,” the statement added.

On Sunday, July 11, Pope Francis looked strong and in good spirits as he led the midday Angelus from the 10th floor balcony of the hospital. Afterward, he went by wheelchair through the corridors, greeting members of the medical staff and the sick.

“May they live this time as an opportunity, even if it is lived in pain, to open up with tenderness to their sick brother or sister in the next bed, with whom they share the same human fragility,” the Holy Father prayed.