ROME — The Vatican announced Monday that Pope Francis will stay in the hospital “a few more days” to continue his recovery from intestinal surgery.
Pope Francis has “completed the post-operative course,” said Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, in a statement.
“In order to optimize the medical and rehabilitation therapy, the Holy Father will remain hospitalized for a few more days,” he added.
The pope went into the Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital on July 4 for colon surgery, after which Bruni said the pontiff was expected “to remain in hospital for approximately seven days, barring any complications.”
The Vatican Press Office has not indicated whether such complications have indeed arisen, nor has it provided an updated departure date for the pope.
On July 7, Luis Badilla, editor of the semi-official Vatican news aggregator Il Sismografo, penned a dour essay underscoring the gravity of the pope’s health situation and asserting that when he eventually returns from hospital, he “will never be the same again.”
There is a very significant detail that many “underestimate, ignore, or manipulate,” namely, “the disease that has affected Pope Francis is severe and degenerative” and “could also be chronic,” Badilla wrote.
Badilla also said the state of the pope’s health may well upset future travel plans, such as a pastoral trip to Hungary and Slovakia scheduled for September.
On July 8, Bruni issued a press release in which he stated that the pope “temporarily ran a high temperature” the preceding evening.
Twenty-four minutes later, Bruni issued a modified statement downplaying the seriousness of the pope’s fever. The new statement removed the word “high,” saying merely that Francis “temporarily ran a temperature.”
The hospitalization of a pope, especially for surgery, always kindles speculation about papal succession, especially since the true state of the pontiff’s health is never totally clear. In such circumstances, informal lists of papabili, or cardinals considered likely candidates for a papal election, are often circulated among journalists and Vatican watchers.
In February 2005, Pope John Paul II was admitted to the same Gemelli Hospital to treat breathing issues, an event that marked the beginning a rapid decline in his health leading to his death on April 2.
In 2015, Pope Francis said he expected his pontificate to be short, a prediction that did not prove true.
“I have a feeling my pontificate will be brief,” Francis told Mexico’s Televisa channel. “Four or five years, I don’t know. Two years have already gone by. It is a vague feeling I have that the Lord chose me for a short mission. I am always open to that possibility.”