Rome [Italy], June 11: Pope Francis has been told to spend all of next week in a Rome hospital where he has been recovering from abdominal surgery, his doctors and the Vatican said on Saturday.
"The Holy Father is following a careful recovery that aims at the least strain on the abdominal wall," surgeon Sergio Alfieri explained at Rome's Gemelli Hospital.
The 86-year-old was not running a fever and his heart and lung values are normal, Alfierei added. The results of blood tests and X-rays were "absolutely normal."
The pontiff should be able to eat something solid for the first time on Saturday, Alfieri added.
The head of the Catholic Church underwent a three-hour operation under general anaesthetic at Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Wednesday.
The operation was necessary to repair a type of hernia known as a laparocele.
On Friday, Francis was able to do some work while sitting in an armchair. He read the newspapers in the morning, prayed in the afternoon and later received the Eucharist.
On the advice of the doctors and his medical team, the Pope decided not to speak the Angelus prayer in public this Sunday. He is to pray privately instead.
Alfieri explained that currently as little stress as possible should be put on the patient's abdominal wall to promote healing. A plasticmesh was implanted in the pope to stabilize the area.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni reiterated that all of the Pope's appointments have been cancelled until June 18. For the time after that, everything will initially remain as planned.
At the beginning of August, the pope wants to fly to Lisbon for five days for World Youth Day. A five-day trip to Mongolia is also planned for the end of August.
Source: Qatar Tribune