Pope Francis is undergoing surgery in a Rome hospital for the second time in less than two years on Wednesday, this time to repair a hernia most likely caused by scars from an operation in 2021.
Francis, 86, gave no sign that he was about to enter hospital for planned surgery during his general audience in St. Peter’s Square, where he was in good spirits, stopped to kiss babies and lingered to chat with newlyweds.
It is the latest in a string of health problems in recent years. A Vatican source said all of the pope’s private and general audiences had been cancelled until June 18. In his 2021 stay there, however, Francis recited the traditional Sunday prayer from a hospital balcony. A statement, which was unusually detailed by Vatican standards, said he was expected to stay for “a number of days” to allow for “normal post-operation progress and full recovery of his functions”.
The pope’s medical team had decided in recent days that surgery was required because the condition was causing painful, intestinal occlusions. Francis is known to be afraid of the negative effects of general anaesthesia, which are also more common in older people. In July 2021 he had part of his colon removed in an operation aimed at addressing a painful bowel condition called diverticulitis.Francis spent around 40 minutes at the same Roman hospital on Tuesday for what the Vatican said was a “check up,” without disclosing then that it was, in effect a pre-operation visit. Francis was treated for five days at the same hospital at the end of March with a lung infection and last month skipped audiences for a day due to a fever.
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