Pope Francis’s medical team reported June 9 morning that two days after undergoing surgery for an abdominal hernia, the pontiff is continually improving and spent the morning reading following a lengthy rest the day before.
A June 9 statement from the Vatican said that Pope Francis “rested well during the night,” and that his medical team says his clinical status “is progressively improving and the post-operative course is regular.”
Francis breakfasted and got out of bed after, spending most of the day in an armchair in his room, allowing him “to read the newspapers” and to begin “the initial resumption of his work.”
Pope Francis underwent abdominal surgery Wednesday afternoon for what the Vatican described as “a lacerated incisional hernia” causing recurrent pain “and worsening sub-occlusive syndromes,” meaning there is a hernia in the abdominal wall at the place of a previous surgical incision in which the intestine goes out and comes in, creating discomfort.
The pope spent Thursday resting, and maintained a liquid diet, apart from receiving communion for the Catholic Feast of Corpus Christi, which commemorates Jesus’s death on the Cross.
He also voiced gratitude for the many well-wishes and messages of support that have come in from around the world.
A Vatican statement Thursday evening said Francis was particularly moved by a message he received from the family of infant Miguel Angel, who was baptized by the pontiff on March 31, while Francis was admitted to the Gemelli hospital for bronchitis.