POPE MONITOR

POPE LEAVES HOSPITAL POPE TO VISIT HUNGARY AND SLOVAKIA IN SEPTEMBER

On July 14, ten days after undergoing intestinal surgery, Pope Francis was released from Rome's Gemelli hospital.

In a statement, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said that after leaving the hospital, the pope visited the Basilica of St. Mary Major to say a prayer of gratitude before the icon of Salus Populi Romani ('health of the Roman people').

The pope thanked Mary "for the success of his surgery and offered a prayer for all the sick, especially those he had met during his stay in hospital," the statement said.

The pope was admitted to Gemelli hospital on July 4 to undergo "a scheduled surgical intervention for a symptomatic diverticular stenosis of the colon."

He underwent a three-hour left hemicolectomy, which removes the descending part of the colon, a surgery that can be recommended to treat diverticulitis, when bulging pouches in the lining of the intestine or colon become inflamed or infected.

During his stay, the pope continued working and spent time visiting patients at the hospital.

Pope Francis has announced that he will visit Hungary and Slovakia from September 12-15.

The pope will celebrate the concluding Mass of the International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest on September 12 before going to neighbouring Slovakia.

The Vatican press office said the Slovakia trip would include stops in Bratislava, Presov, Kosice and Sastin, but did not immediately provide details of the pope's program.

Eduard Habsburg, the Hungarian ambassador to the Holy See, replied on Twitter to people who asked why the pope was going to Hungary only for a Mass but then would make a full pastoral visit to Slovakia. "Hungary, a few hours, Slovakia, a few days. Why?" he tweeted. The pope "is doing exactly what he has been invited for — in Budapest, the final Mass of the @iec2021Budapest (the eucharistic congress), in Slovakia, an extended visit to the country."

St Stephen's Basilica, Budapest