In this July 11, 2021 file photo, Pope Francis appears on a balcony of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, where he is recovering from intestinal surgery, for the traditional Sunday blessing and Angelus prayer. Pope Francis left the hospital Wednesday, July 14, 2021, to continue his convalescence at the Vatican.

ROME — Pope Francis was discharged from a Rome hospital and returned home to the Vatican on Wednesday, 10 days after undergoing surgery to remove half his colon.

Francis, 84, stopped at St. Mary Major Basilica to give thanks for the success of the operation and pray for others before returning home, the Vatican said. The pope always visits the basilica after a foreign trip to pray at a beloved icon of the Virgin Mary.

After the detour to the basilica, his small motorcade approached a side entrance to the Vatican and stopped before reaching the gate, where Francis got out with the help of a bodyguard. He greeted some Italian security guards — two army soldiers and a handful of Italian police motorcycle escorts — and got back in the car, which then proceeded through the Perugino gate.

The Vatican hotel where Francis lives is located just inside the gate.

Francis had half of his colon removed on July 4 for a severe narrowing of his large intestine, his first major surgery since he became pope in 2013. It was a planned procedure, scheduled for early July when his audiences are suspended anyway and Francis would normally take some time off.