Pope Francis resumes Vatican routine after surgery

Pope Francis delivers a blessing from a window overlooking St Peter’s Square at the Vatican (Andrew Medichini/AP)

Pope Francis has resumed his Sunday custom of greeting the public in St Peter’s Square, two days after being discharged from hospital.

Before launching into prepared remarks, Francis expressed gratitude for “affection, attention and friendship” and the assurance of “the support of prayer” during his hospitalisation for abdominal surgery at a Rome hospital on June 7 to repair a hernia and remove increasingly painful scarring around his intestines.