Vatican says Pope in “good condition” after colon surgery

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ROME – The Vatican said on Monday that Pope Francis was in “good general condition” a day after the 84-year-old pontiff underwent colon surgery, adding he was to remain in hospital for seven days, “if no complications arise. “

The Pope was “alert and breathing on his own,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement, noting that the operation took three hours.

The Vatican said on Sunday the procedure had been scheduled – Francis suffers from diverticulitis, a disease that can infect or inflame the colon – but it had made no prior announcement of the visit, and the pope’s unexpected admission into the a hospital in Rome had arisen as a surprise.

The operation is the first relatively serious health crisis for the Pope, whose eight-year pontificate has been built around his personal style, his charisma and his expressed desire to reinvigorate the church.

Unlike his predecessors, Francis never left the Vatican for the cooler papal residence of Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, during the summer. But he normally slows down his schedule in July, suspending his weekly general audiences with worshipers held on Wednesdays, and he does not normally schedule meetings with dignitaries or groups. Some Vatican experts said Monday that he had probably scheduled the operation earlier this month because his schedule was clear.

This is the first time Francis has been admitted to a hospital since he became pope in 2013. For the most part, his state of health has not given rise to concern. In 1957, he had the upper lobe of his lungs removed as a result of complications from tuberculosis. And in recent years, his breathing has seemed labored during speeches. He had a cataract removed in 2019.

But Francis has maintained an often exhausting schedule on his trips abroad, most recently to Iraq in March. However, he clearly slowed down – in part because he suffers from sciatica, which causes pain in his legs and back – and he missed some commitments. Last year, he missed New Years Eve and New Years services due to a flare-up of the disease.

Sunday’s operation was performed by Dr Sergio Alfieri, who heads the hospital’s complex digestive surgery operational unit, assisted by nine other doctors, including the Pope’s personal physician Roberto Bernabei. Dr Bernabei’s predecessor, Dr Fabrizio Soccorsi, died in January from the coronavirus.

Francis is resting on the 10th floor of one of the wings of the Gemelli Polyclinic, a teaching hospital in Rome where Pope John Paul II was taken for emergency treatment after being shot in May 1981. John Paul II was repeatedly treated in hospital for various conditions, to the point that he began to jokingly call it “the third Vatican”. François stays in the same rooms occupied by John Paul II.

The Vatican said Sunday evening that Francis had “responded well” to the operation, which took place while the Pope was under general anesthesia.

Updates on the status of Pope Francis are expected to be issued twice a day by the Vatican.

Get well messages have come from all over the world, according to Vatican News, the Vatican online news site. On Monday, the office of Mario Draghi, the Italian Prime Minister, said that Mr. Draghi wished the Pope “a speedy recovery and a speedy recovery”.

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