Pope Francis' overall condition is progressively improving and his post-surgical recovery is normal, allowing him to get out of bed and resume handling some work from his hospital armchair, the Vatican has said.
The 86-year-old underwent a three-hour operation on Wednesday to repair an abdominal hernia, which doctors said was successful enough that he should have no limitations in his activities after he recovers.
"Pope Francis rested during the night. His medical team says the clinical situation is progressively improving and the post-operative recovery is normal," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement.
"After having breakfast, His Holiness began to move around, spending most of the morning in an armchair. This allowed him to read the newspapers and to start resuming work," he added.
Given the increasingly positive nature of the medical bulletins so far, they suggest the pope will be strong enough to appear at the balcony of his tenth-floor suite at Rome's Gemelli hospital to recite his traditional Angelus prayer this Sunday.
He did so during his stay in the same hospital for abdominal surgery in 2021 in which he had part of his colon removed in an operation aimed at addressing a painful bowel condition called diverticulitis.
He said earlier this year that the condition had returned and was affecting his weight.
Doctor Sergio Alfieri, the chief surgeon who operated on the pope at Rome's Gemelli hospital, said on Wednesday that his patient had reacted well to general anaesthesia and that he expected him to be in hospital for about five to seven days.
But speaking to reporters after the surgery, Dr Alfieri cautioned that while the pontiff was strong he was also elderly and recently had bronchitis so "we will take all necessary precautions" regarding the length of the hospital stay.
Pope Francis has two trips planned for this summer, to Portugal from 2 to 6 August to attend World Youth Day and visit the Shrine of Fatima, and to Mongolia from 31 August to 4 September.
