Pope Francis went through planned intestinal surgery Sunday and responded well, a Vatican spokesperson said.
The 84-year-old pontiff had been hospitalized in Rome on Sunday afternoon for surgery for diverticular stenosis of the colon, which causes small bulges of the wall of the large intestine. If left untreated, diverticulitis can cause infection or perforation of the bowel.
The pontiff received general anesthesia for the procedure at A. Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, Holy See spokesman Matteo Bruni said. Officials didn’t disclose how long the operation took.
The surgeon was Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the director of Gemelli’s digestive surgery department and a specialist in general, digestive, colon-rectal, stomach and pancreatic surgery, officials said. Francis remained at the hospital afterward for observation, the Vatican said.
The pope received an outpouring of support.
“Speaking on behalf of all Italians and of myself, we wish to send to Your Holiness our warm regards and the most cordial wishes for a good convalescence and speedy recovery,” Italian President Sergio Mattarella said in a statement.
Francis arrived at the hospital earlier Sunday with a driver and a “close collaborator,” according to the Italian news agency ANSA, and was admitted to a suite reserved for him.
Hours earlier, he greeted the public in St. Peter’s Square, his weekly Sunday tradition, and announced he would be visiting Hungary and Slovakia in September.
Although the Vatican didn’t reveal when Francis first had symptoms, or for how long the surgery had been scheduled, the pope seemed to hint at it a week earlier.
“I ask you to pray for the pope, pray in a special way,” he said during a public appearance on June 27. “The pope needs your prayers. I know you will do that.”
Since then, he has kept a busy schedule, including meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on June 28.
Pope Francis missed the past New Year’s Eve celebration and New Year’s Day Mass in the Vatican due to “painful sciatica,” but has generally been in good health since assuming the papacy in 2013.
When he was 21, he had part of his lung removed after suffering severe pneumonia.
______
