Rome
CNN
—
Pope Francis will have surgery on his abdomen and remain in a Rome hospital for several days, the Vatican said Wednesday, sparking renewed fears over the 86-year-old’s fragile health.
The pope was forced to cancel several work commitments in late May after he was debilitated by a fever. He was also hospitalized in March for bronchitis but responded well to antibiotics. Leaving hospital on that occasion, Francis joked that he’s “still alive.”
Technically called a laparotomy, Wednesday’s procedure involves general anesthesia and is intended to repair a hernia that the Vatican said was causing “recurrent, painful and worsening” symptoms.
According to medical sources, the intervention is likely related to the surgery Francis experienced in 2021 to remove half of his colon.
The Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, added the pope was expected to make a “full functional recovery.”
Francis left for hospital on Wednesday after his general audience at St. Peter’s Square, where he stopped to chat with members of the crowd, Reuters reported. The pope traveled in a white Fiat 500 to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, which has a 10th-floor suite reserved for popes, according to Reuters.
In addition to his colon surgery two years ago, Francis had part of one lung removed after a severe bout of pneumonia as a young man. More recently, in 2019, he underwent ocular surgery at Rome’s Clinic of Pius XI to treat a cataract. He has also struggled with chronic sciatica pain.
Over the past year, he experienced knee troubles that have largely confined him to the use of a cane or a wheelchair.
Should Francis be incapacitated for any length of time, the Vatican could find itself facing something of a constitutional crisis. There is no “vice pope” in the Catholic system, meaning someone who can exercise the pope’s authority in his absence.
The Vatican’s secretary of state, currently Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, can oversee routine day-to-day management, but he has no authority, for example, to appoint bishops or to create or suppress dioceses around the world.
In an interview with Spanish daily ABC in December, Francis said he had already prepared a letter of resignation in the case of permanent medical incapacity shortly after his election in 2013.
Francis said he wrote the letter several years ago and gave it to then-Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who resigned in 2013.
In his first public comments about the letter’s existence, the pope was quoted as saying: “I have already signed my renunciation. The Secretary of State at the time was Tarcisio Bertone. I signed it and said: ‘If I should become impaired for medical reasons or whatever, here is my renunciation.’”
In 2013, Francis’ immediate predecessor, the late Pope Benedict XVI, made the almost unprecedented decision to resign from his position, citing “advanced age” as the reason and startling the Catholic world.
It marked the first time a pope had stepped down in nearly 600 years. The last pope to step down before his death was Gregory XII, who in 1415 quit to end a civil war within the church in which more than one man claimed to be pope.
during a visit in which he showed solidarity with migrants fleeing war and poverty. ” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1669″ width=”2500″ loading=’lazy’/>
was there to pay tribute to those who died in the Holocaust. ” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1664″ width=”2500″ loading=’lazy’/>
two-day trip to Egypt to forge Muslim-Christian brotherhood and show solidarity with the country’s persecuted Coptic Christian minority.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1569″ width=”2790″ loading=’lazy’/>
private audience at the Vatican in May 2017. Joining the President are his wife, Melania, and his daughter Ivanka.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2966″ width=”5272″ loading=’lazy’/>
the first time a pope has visited an Arab Gulf state, and it was the first time a pope had celebrated Mass in the Arabian Peninsula, the birthplace of Islam.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1403″ width=”2500″ loading=’lazy’/>
his weekly blessing from the window of his private library in March 2020. St. Peter’s Square is normally swarming with tens of thousands of visitors, but the Vatican was on lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1667″ width=”2500″ loading=’lazy’/>
the first-ever papal visit to Iraq, and it was Francis’ first trip outside Italy since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1654″ width=”2500″ loading=’lazy’/>
shakes hands with a man dressed as Spider-Man while visiting with people at the Vatican in June 2021. The masked man, who works with sick children in hospitals, also gave a Spider-Man mask to the Pope.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1667″ width=”2500″ loading=’lazy’/>
his trip to the Vatican in October 2021. Between them is Italian translator Elisabetta Savigni Ullmann. Challenge coins originated in the military, and this one included the insignia of a Delaware Army National Guard unit that Biden’s son Beau served in. Biden said during his visit that coins are given to “warriors and leaders” and that the pope is “the most significant warrior for peace I’ve ever met.” Biden, a devout lifelong Catholic, met with the Pope for 90 minutes and said he discussed “a lot of personal things” with the pontiff. It was the fourth meeting between Francis and Biden, but their first since Biden became President.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1667″ width=”2500″ loading=’lazy’/>
Francis spoke of his “sorrow, indignation and shame” over the Catholic Church’s role in the abuse of Canadian Indigenous children in residential schools. He apologized and promised a “serious investigation” into what happened.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1973″ width=”3646″ loading=’lazy’/>
Francis’ visit to the DRC — the first papal visit since 1985 — was part of a six-day trip that also included South Sudan. In those two countries, Catholics comprise about half of the population and the Church is a key stakeholder in health and education systems as well as in democracy-building efforts. ” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1334″ width=”2000″ loading=’lazy’/>
He was hospitalized with a respiratory infection after having difficulty breathing, the Vatican said. ” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1334″ width=”2000″ loading=’lazy’/>
Pope Francis will undergo an operation for an abdominal hernia at a Rome hospital, according to a Vatican source.” class=”image_gallery-image__dam-img image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image_gallery-image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1333″ width=”2000″/>
Pope Francis, in pictures
The pope has positioned himself as a more progressive leader than his predecessors during his decade-long tenure.
In 2016, he urged priests around the world to be more accepting of LGBTQ communities, but later walked back on comments declaring support for civil union for same-sex couples.
He has made historic visits to Myanmar and Iraq, and was also the first pontiff to celebrate Mass in the Arabian Peninsula, the birthplace of Islam, in 2019. The pope has also been a vocal supporter for peace in Ukraine.
Francis has also taken steps to crack down on clerical sexual abuse, an issue the Catholic Church has been plagued by in several countries around the world.
