Pope continues on the road to recovery after surgery

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Pope Francis is recovering according to expectations at the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome.

His blood results are satisfactory after intestinal surgery last Sunday. The pope is slowly resuming work and celebrated Mass on Friday afternoon and then had dinner together with those who supported him these days, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni announced Saturday, according to Kathpress. The Pope especially highlighted the “human dedication” of the medical and nursing staff who cared for him. He thought of all those who, with care and compassion, chose “the face of suffering” and cared for the sick, the particularly vulnerable and fragile.

Pope Francis then spent another quiet night. Francis also walked the corridor of his hospital apartment and continued prescribed treatments. The pope is constantly assisted by two nurses, Italian media reported.

Meanwhile, technical preparations continued Saturday in the hospital square for Sunday’s Angelus prayer, which the pope will say from the hospital’s tenth floor.

It is still unclear whether the pope will speak on Sunday directly from the window of his room, which looks out onto the square in front of the hospital’s entrance with a large statue of John Paul II, or whether the Angelus will be streamed from the chapel in Francis ́ room.

Pope Francis had gone to Rome’s Gemelli Clinic on Sunday afternoon for a planned medical procedure, where he underwent intestinal surgery later that evening. In the process, he had part of his colon removed, which was severely narrowed by enlarged diverticula. So far, it is expected that the Pope will have to stay in the hospital for about seven days, unless complications arise.

Meanwhile, the Italian bishops’ conference again wished Pope Francis a full recovery. Even in this situation, the head of the Church teaches how to deal with suffering, and that even in the hour of greatest effort, one should never give in to despair, the bishops said Saturday at the conclusion of an extraordinary meeting of the Permanent Council of the Bishops’ Conference in Rome, according to Kathpress. “All our churches pray for him and we wish him to resume his Petrine ministry soon and with renewed energy.”