Pope Francis was discharged from A. Gemelli University Hospital on Saturday morning.
Vatican News Staff Correspondent
Pope Francis was released from Gemelli Hospital on Saturday morning after a short hospital stay that included scheduled tests and treatment for bronchitis.
In a brief statement Saturday morning, the Holy See Press Office noted that before his departure, the Holy Father greeted the leadership of the hospital, including Franco Agnelli, rector of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart; Marco Elefanti, General Director of Polyclinic; and the general ecclesiastical assistant of the hospital, Bishop Claudio Giuliotori, and the medical team and health workers who assisted him during his recovery.
Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic, the largest hospital in Rome, is the teaching hospital for the Catholic University School of Medicine. The hospital is named after Franciscan friar Agostino Gemelli, a physician and psychologist who was the founder and first rector of the university.
As he left the hospital, Pope Francis stopped his car briefly to greet those present, pausing for a moment to embrace and pray for a couple who had lost their daughter during the night.
Visit to Santa Maria Maggiore
Then the Holy Father went to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where he prayed before the Salus Papuli Romani, an icon of Mary, for all the sick and those suffering from illness or the loss of loved ones. He prayed in a special way for the children he met yesterday in the pediatric oncology and pediatric neurosurgery units of the hospital, entrusting them to the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin.
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