VATICAN CITY: The Vatican says Pope Francis has gone to a Rome hospital for scheduled surgery for a stenosis, or restriction, of the large intestine.
The brief announcement Sunday afternoon didn’t say when the surgery would be performed but it said there would be announcement when the surgery is complete.
Just three hours earlier, Francis had cheerfully greeted the public in St. Peter’s Square in keeping with a Sunday tradition and told them he will go to Hungary and Slovakia in September.
A week earlier, Francis, 84, had used the same traditional appearance to ask the public for special prayers for the pope, which, in hindsight might have been hinting at the planned surgery at Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic.
Pope Francis will visit Hungary and Slovakia from September 12 to 15, including celebrating a mass in Hungarian capital Budapest.
“I’m happy to announce that from September 12 to 15... I will go to Slovakia for a pastoral visit,” Francis told pilgrims gathered on Rome’s St. Peter’s Square for his traditional Sunday prayer.
He added that he would celebrate the closing mass of the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest on September 12.
Francis’ visit to Slovakia will include the cities of Bratislava, Presov, Kosice and Sastin, the Vatican said in a statement.
Although more detailed plans for the trip will be announced later, there was no sign the pope intends to meet Hungary’s political leaders during his stop in Budapest.
* With AP and AFP
