Pope recovers from sensitive operation – no appointments for the time being US agent: “Government has found extraterrestrial material”

After open abdominal surgery, including general anesthesia, Pope Francis now has days of recovery. This was explained by attending surgeon Sergio Alfieri after the three-hour operation. The 86-year-old pope was operated on Wednesday for a laparocele, a hernia in the intestine.

According to the doctor, the operation was successful, the prominent patient also tolerated the anesthesia well and was quick to joke.

The doctor told journalists that Francis would have to stay in the clinic for five to seven days for observation and recovery from the procedure. If the pope feels fit again, he can carry out his duties as planned, Alfieri added.

He only advised the Argentinian against physically demanding activities – to which, according to the doctor, he replied that he was the pope and would certainly not lift heavy weights.

No audience for now

As a precaution, the planned audiences in the Vatican were canceled until June 18, so for about a week and a half. This was confirmed by Matteo Bruni, the spokesman for the Holy See. A major event scheduled for Saturday in St. Peter’s Square for peace must go ahead – now, of course, without the participation of the pope. A major call for peace will be published during the event, also expecting some 30 Nobel laureates and celebrities such as opera and pop stars Andrea Bocelli and Al Bano. The Vatican is hoping for more than a billion signatures around the world for the initiative.

Another event in the coming days is the traditional Angelus prayer on Sunday at noon. In theory, the pope could also say this in the hospital – as he had done on the balcony of the Gemelli clinic in 2021 after his bowel surgery.

Even when the pope had to stay in hospital for three days due to pneumonia shortly before Easter in March, he worked in his private apartment on the tenth floor of the hospital. Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin announced on Wednesday that the pope can also continue his most important tasks in the clinic and will be supported in doing so.

This is one of the reasons why Francis rarely allows himself phases of rest and downtime so as not to appear old, frail, or frail. The Argentinian, who is largely confined to a wheelchair due to a serious knee injury, wants to avoid giving the Curia – especially critics or opponents – the impression that he can no longer properly exercise his office and that his pontificate is about to end. (sda/dpa)