Rome : Pope Francis was admitted to a Rome hospital on Wednesday for another abdominal operation under general anaesthesia, this time to repair a hernia most likely caused by scars from surgery in 2021.
Francis, 86, gave no sign that he was about to enter hospital for planned surgery during his general audience in St. Peter’s Square, where he was in good spirits, stopped to kiss babies and lingered to chat with newlyweds.
Shortly afterwards, he left the Vatican in a simple white Fiat 500 L for the Catholic-run Gemelli hospital a short drive away and which has a 10th-floor suite reserved for popes.
The surgery, scheduled to take place on Wednesday afternoon, will make it the third hospital stay for Francis since cardinals chose the Argentine as the first Latin American pope in 2013.
