Pope Francis celebrated Mass, worked and dined with supporters as his recovery from intestinal surgery continued with “satisfactory” results, said the Vatican on Saturday.
He is expected to deliver his weekly prayer on Sunday noon from the papal apartment on the 10th floor of Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic.
Francis on July 4 was admitted to Gemelli after suffering a severe narrowing of his large intestine. The surgeons removed half of his colon according to reports.
The 84-year-old pope, who lost part of one lung to an infection in his youth, is expected to remain in the hospital for at least through the end of the week, said the Vatican.
In a daily update Saturday, the Vatican said Francis’ latest blood tests were “satisfactory.”
The statement from Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said, “He is gradually resuming work and continues to stroll in the corridor of the apartment. In the afternoon, he celebrated Holy Mass in the private chapel, and in the evening, he dined with those who are assisting him during these days.”
Bruni said after experiencing first-hand the care of doctors and nurses, Francis was thinking in particular of those who “with care and compassion choose the face of suffering.”
