Pope Francis has left the hospital a little over a week after his abdominal surgery. The 86-year-old was wheeled out of the Gemelli Clinic in Rome on Friday morning, where he had undergone surgery nine days earlier for a threatened bowel obstruction.

The head of the Catholic Church seemed recovered, waved to the waiting believers and spoke briefly to reporters in front of the clinic entrance. "I'm still alive," said the Argentine, smiling. Then he got into his white compact car to drive back to the Vatican.

Francis has completed his third stay in the clinic in north-west Rome, which lasted several days. He had an operation on his intestines in the summer of 2021 and was last hospitalized for pneumonia this spring. According to the doctors, the procedure last Wednesday, including general anesthesia, was successful and without complications.