Vatican City - Pope Francis was discharged from Gemelli Hospital on Saturday morning following a brief hospital stay that involved 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 Anelli, the Rector of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart; Marco Elefanti, the General Director of the Policlinic; and the General Ecclesiastical Assistant for the hospital, Bishop Claudio Giuliodori, as well as the medical team and healthcare workers who assisted him during his convalescence.

The Agostino Gemelli University Policlinic, the largest hospital in Rome, is the teaching hospital for the Catholic University’s medical school. The hospital is named for Franciscan Friar Agostino Gemelli, a physician and psychologist, who was also 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 with a couple who had lost their daughter during the night.

Visit to Santa Maria Maggiore
The Holy Father then headed for the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where he prayed before the icon of Mary, Salus Populi Romani, for all the sick and those suffering due to the illness or loss of loved ones. He prayed in a special way for the children he met yesterday in the hospital's paediatric oncology and children's neurosurgery ward, entrusting them to the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin.

-VN