Vatican City - Pope Francis is admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital where he will undergo abdominal surgery on Wednesday afternoon. He is expected to remain in hospital for some days to allow for full recovery.

A statement released by the Holy See Press Office said the Holy Father “will undergo a laparotomy and abdominal wall surgery under general anaesthesia.”

“The surgery, decided upon over the past few days by the medical team assisting the Holy Father, became necessary due to an incisional laparocele (hernia) that is causing recurrent, painful and worsening sub-occlusive syndromes,” the statement said.

The Press Office added that Pope Francis will remain in the hospital for several days “to allow for a normal post-operative course and full functional recovery."

The Holy Father’s admission to the hospital follows a visit and consultation with doctors at the same facility on Tuesday afternoon.

St Therese of the Child Jesus

On Wednesday morning the Holy Father held his regular General Audience in St. Peter’s Square after having venerated the relics of St Therese of the Child Jesus, a saint to whom he is particularly devoted.

In his tweet, on what would have been her 150th birthday, he appealed for prayers “for the grace to love Jesus as she loved Him, the grace to offer Him our trials and our sorrows, as she did, so that He might be known and loved by all.”

Hospitalisation in March

This is the third time Pope Francis has been admitted to the Gemelli Hospital.  As we remember, Pope Francis spent four days in the facility in March when he was treated for bronchitis that had caused him respiratory problems. He was on 1 April, after a rapid and positive recovery.

Surgery in 2021

On 4 July 2021, the Holy Father underwent abdominal surgery for a symptomatic diverticular stenosis of the colon. The operation was performed under general anaesthesia in an overall good health picture for the then 84-year-old Pontiff.