Pope Francis underwent a 3-hour surgery to repair an abdominal hernia on Wednesday, June 7. The pope’s surgeon, speaking to the press, said that the surgery went well and that the pope has been encouraged to stay in the hospital for at least a week. The Vatican has released updates once or twice a day since the surgery, saying the pope is now eating solids, talking, and has been able to walk a bit and do some work.
This week on “Inside the Vatican,” veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell tells host Colleen Dulle what he has heard from sources who have spoken to the pope in recent days.
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In the second half of the show, Colleen and Gerry compare notes on how the Vatican has been communicating about Pope Francis’ current hospitalization versus his last two, and how this stacks up against how it communicated about John Paul II’s long struggle with Parkinson’s disease.
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The “Inside the Vatican” special deep dive episode that was released ahead of Pope Francis’ visit to Canada and his apology to the First Nations for the church’s involvement in residential schools won second place for “Best Podcast - Topical News” at the Catholic Media Awards, hosted by the Catholic Media Association. Listen to the award-winning episode here.
Links from the show
- Surgeon: Pope Francis will not recite the Angelus on Sunday
- Pope Francis thanks children for the love and drawings they have given him while he recovers from surgery
- ‘Do not be afraid, we are with you!’: Four kids in children’s hospital send Pope Francis a get-well card
- Surgeon: Pope Francis is ‘alert’ and cracking jokes after hernia operation
- Pope Francis’ 3-hour abdominal surgery finished ‘without complications’
