Pope Francis has to undergo an urgent operation. The Holy See announced that the head of the Catholic Church would undergo a so-called laparotomy, i.e. the opening of the abdominal cavity, on Wednesday afternoon.
Francis arrived at the clinic late Wednesday morning in his white compact car and with a police escort, as video footage showed.
In the morning, the 86-year-old held the weekly general audience on St. Peter’s Square. He was then taken to the Gemelli Clinic in Rome, where he is to have an operation on his intestines in the early afternoon. The procedure will be performed under general anesthesia and will result in a hospital stay of “several days”.
Francis’ team of doctors have decided in the past few days that the Argentine must be operated on for a so-called laparocele. This means a fracture in the abdominal area. The communication from the Holy See speaks of recurring pain.
In 2013, Jorge Mario Bergoglio became the successor to the emeritus and now deceased Benedict XVI. chosen. His health has been bad for years. His knee bothers him and often forces him into a wheelchair. Even if he enjoys some public appearances and sometimes seems almost carefree, he does not appear healthy overall, but noticeably often exhausted.
Already in 2021 the pope had an operation on his intestines. After that, it was said that he had not tolerated the general anesthesia well. At that time he spent eleven days in the Gemelli Clinic. Earlier this year he mentioned in an interview that his bowel disease, painful diverticulitis, had returned. At the end of March, Francis also had to be treated clinically for pneumonia.