Pope Francis is set to undergo a challenging abdominal hernia operation, raising concerns about his deteriorating health at the age of 86, and he expressed the need to conserve his energy to fulfill his role as the leader of the Catholic Church.
Pope Francis will undergo a painful abdominal hernia operation on Wednesday, reviving concerns over the 86-year-old’s increasingly fragile health.
Francis was admitted mid-morning to the Gemelli hospital in Rome, where he is expected to stay for several days.
The 86-year-old, who underwent colon surgery in 2021, suffers from a hernia that is “causing recurrent, painful and worsening” symptoms, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement.
Francis looked in good spirits as he led his weekly general audience at the Vatican before leaving for the hospital in his white Fiat 500, escorted through Rome by police cars with their sirens blaring.
A laparotomy is a surgical incision into the abdominal cavity.
The Vatican said Francis suffered from a laparocele, a hernia that can form over a scar from previous surgery.
Francis, the leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics for a decade, has suffered increasing health issues over the past year.
“At my age and with this limitation, I have to save myself a little bit to be able to serve the Church,” Pope Francis said.
Miroslava Salazar with AFP
