Pope Francis is undergoing an operation Wednesday to treat an abdominal hernia in a hospital in Rome, where he is expected to stay “several days”, according to the Vatican.
The director of the media department of the Holy See, Matteo Bruni, said in a statement that the pope, who underwent colon surgery in 2021, suffers from a hernia that “causes recurrent, painful and exacerbating symptoms.”
This comes after a short visit to Gemelli Hospital in Rome on Tuesday, after which the Vatican announced that he had undergone “examinations”.
Pope Francis organized his usual weekly public audience with the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday, before heading to the hospital.
“In the early afternoon, he will undergo a laparotomy and abdominal wall surgery… under general anesthesia,” Bruni said. A laparotomy is a surgical incision in the abdominal cavity.
“The hospital stay will last for several days to allow for a normal postoperative course and full functional recovery,” a Vatican spokesman said.
Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics for a decade, has suffered mounting health problems over the past year.
In July 2021, he underwent surgery at Gemelli Hospital for a form of diverticulitis, an inflammation of pockets that form in the lining of the intestines, and was discharged after ten days.
He also stayed in hospital for three nights at the end of March with a bronchitis, which was treated with antibiotics.
He suffers from constant pain in his right knee and sciatica.
Fears
The pope’s stay in hospital has always fueled anxiety and speculation about his future.
Francis’s predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, stepped down in 2013 due to failing health, before passing away last December.
For nearly a year, Pope Francis has been using a wheelchair because of recurring knee pain, which he says cannot be treated surgically.
When asked about his health in an interview with the American Spanish-language network Telemundo in May, the Pope said he had become “much better.”
“I can walk now. My knee is recovering. I could barely walk, now I can. Some days are more painful than others,” he added.
He explained that the doctors discovered that he had bronchitis in a timely manner.
And he added, “If we had waited a few more hours, it would have been more serious. But I was discharged (from the hospital) after four days.”
Despite his health problems, Pope Francis continues to travel extensively, but in July 2022 he acknowledged that he needed to reduce his movements.
“At my age and because of these things,” he said at the time, “I have to spare a little effort to be able to serve the Church…or, alternatively, consider the possibility of stepping down.”
But he stressed in March that he did not currently intend to step down from the post.
Benedict XVI, who died on December 31 at the age of 95, caused a surprise in 2013 when he announced his abdication in a step not taken by any pope since the Middle Ages.
