Pope Francis will be operated on today (Sunday 4 July) at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome: he will undergo a scheduled surgery for a symptomatic diverticular stenosis of the colon. This was reported by the Vatican press office. The surgery will be performed by prof. Sergio Alfieri. At the end of the surgery a new medical bulletin will be issued.
The anonymous arrival
It was just after 3 pm when Pope Francis’ car, as usual, without any particular signs of recognition, left the Pope at the entrance to the hospital. With him only a very small following: only the driver and a close collaborator. At that moment, none of the regular Gemini patients noticed anything particular that was happening. Not even most of the staff of the university hospital – if not the doctors directly involved – was aware of the surgery that the Pope had to undergo. Francis was placed on the tenth floor of the university hospital, in the same premises that in the past have already hosted the papal shelters, such as those of John Paul II.
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Mattarella: affectionate thought by all Italians
In a message to Pope Francis, the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella wrote: «Your Holiness, having landed in Paris for the state visit that I am about to begin in nearby and friendly France, I learned of your hospitalization at the Gemelli Polyclinic. The affectionate thought of all Italians, of which I am the interpreter by joining my staff, accompanies Your Holiness in these hours, together with the most cordial wishes for a good convalescence and even better and speedy recovery ».
In September in Slovakia (with a stop in Budapest)
In the Angelus celebrated in the morning in St. Peter’s Square, Francis confirmed that from 12 to 15 September he will be on a pastoral visit in Slovakia. It will be the second trip of 2021 after the trip to Iraq. “The Slovaks are happy,” he said, to the applause of the faithful. “The afternoon before – he explained – I will concelebrate the concluding Mass of the International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest”. «I sincerely thank all those who are preparing this trip and I pray for them – he added -. We all pray for this trip and for the people who are working to organize it ».
No general hearings from July
The Pontiff will not leave the Casa Santa Marta, his residence in the Vatican this summer, but, as happened in previous years, from July he will suspend the audiences, in particular the general ones on Wednesday. The usual Sunday meeting with the faithful in St. Peter’s Square remains unchanged.