Pope Francis admitted to hospital for abdominal surgery

ROME, ITALY - JUNE 7: Pope Francis was admitted to a hospital in Rome to undergo an operation on the abdominal wall after his plenary session in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican on Wednesday (June 7).Pope Francis will need to undergo a surgery on his abdomen in the afternoon in the Gemelli Hospital, the Vatican said.The pontiff will remain hospitalized for "several days" to recover following the operation at Gemelli hospital, according to a Vatican statement.It also said the papal team had decided in recent days that surgery was necessary to treat an intestinal constriction.Francis, 86, will be put under general anesthesia and will undergo a "laparotomy and abdominal wall plastic surgery with prosthesis" to treat a "recurrent, painful and worsening" constriction of the intestine."The stay at the health facility will last several days to allow for the normal postoperative course and full functional recovery,” the statement added.This is the second intestinal surgery in two years for the pontiff, who – in July 2021 – spent 10 days at Gemelli hospital to remove 33 centimeters (13 inches) of his large intestine, following a severe inflammation and narrowing of the colon. (Footage by Barış Seçkin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)