Pope Francis back at the Vatican after leaving hospital following surgery to remove half his colon

It's a thumbs up from the Pope as he arrives back at the Vatican

Pope Francis has arrived back at the Vatican after leaving hospital in Rome, 10 days after having surgery to remove half his colon.

The head of the Catholic Church was seen leaving the Agostino Gemelli Polyclini by car on Wednesday morning before arriving back at the Vatican City.

There he got out the car to greet members of the police and security, he then got back in and gave a thumbs up before being driven off.

The 84-year-old had half of his colon removed for a severe narrowing of his large intestine on July 4, his first major surgery since he became pope in 2013.

The Pope was seen leaving the hospital by car on Wednesday

It was a planned procedure, scheduled for early July when the pope’s audiences are suspended anyway and Francis would normally take some time off.

The day before being discharged, he was pictured meeting young patients in the pediatric oncological ward of the same hospital.

He blessed children and babies being treated there.

Francis will have several more weeks to recover before beginning to travel again in September.

There are plans for him to visit Hungary and Slovakia in September and then make a quick stop in Glasgow in November to participate in the COP26 climate conference.