Rome, 4 July 2021 – Pope francesco is hospitalized all’Gemelli hospital in Rome for surgery. The news is relaunched by the beraking latest news agency and therefore also beaten by the Ansa which speaks of “surgery scheduled for a symptomatic diverticular stenosis of the colon“Version confirmed by the Vatican press office latest news: Pope Francis will be operated on already today afternoon from the professor Sergio Alfieri. “At the end of the intervention, a new medical bulletin will be issued”, announced the director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni.
The pontiff arrived at the Polyclinic shortly after 3 pm and was placed on the tenth floor of the hospital, in the same rooms as other papal shelters, such as those of John Paul II. With Francesco only a very small following made up of the driver and a close collaborator.
In the Capitoline hospital already this morning a general mobilization could be noted to better organize the structure while awaiting the arrival of Francis. But when the Pope entered the Polyclinic, none of the patients noticed that something particular was happening. Most of the staff, excluding the doctors directly involved, were also unaware of the pope’s hospitalization and planned intervention. Immediately after the news, the first TV crews arrived in the Gemelli square, already manned by municipal police patrols.
Pope Francis today at the Angelus
The Pope took part in the Angelus this morning in St. Peter’s Square. Speaking from the window of the Apostolic Palace, he announced that from 12 to 15 September he will be “in Slovakia to make a pastoral visit”. Applause from the faithful gathered under Bernini’s colonnade, with Francis joking: “The Slovaks are happy”.
(The article continues under the photo)
If the definitive program will be announced only later, it can already be appreciated as the ‘road map’ of the journey that will have a fast pace. “Before (on the morning of September 12, ed) I will concelebrate the concluding Mass of the International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest “, Francis explained this morning. Then the transfer to Slovakia to visit the cities of Bratislava, Prešov, Košice and Šaštin.” I sincerely thank all those who are preparing this trip and I pray for them ” , the pontiff added to the Angelus. “We all pray for this trip and for the people who are working to organize it.” Then the greeting “with affection” and “especially to the Slovaks”.
The news in the international media
A few minutes after the first confirmations from the Vatican, here is the news of Pope Francis’ hospitalization bouncing on the main international media. CNN publishes the Vatican spokesman’s statement on its website as breaking news, underlining that the hospitalization took place shortly after the celebration of the Sunday Angelus. The article states, among other things, that colon stenosis “is a common condition that affects more than half of adults in the United States, according to the National Institutes of Health, particularly the elderly”.
Updates on the health of Francesco they are also in evidence on the websites of the BBC, the Guardian and the New York Times, which points out that it is the first time that the pope has been hospitalized since he became pope. “More than 60 years ago, an upper lobe of the lung was removed due to complications due to tuberculosis – recalls the newspaper on its website – and at times his breathing seemed labored during speeches. He also suffers from sciatica, a malaise which at times forced him to cancel commitments “. The conditions of Pope Francis they obviously also appear in the foreground in Argentine newspapers and in the Spanish Vanguardia. Less prominence is given by the French and German media.
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