Pope Francis praying and working from hospital

By Courtney Mares

Rome Newsroom, Jun 12, 2023 / 10:15 am

The Vatican said Monday that Pope Francis is working from the hospital as he recovers from hernia surgery.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told journalists on June 12 that Pope Francis’ “postoperative progress continues to be normal” five days after the pope underwent a three-hour surgery for an incisional hernia.

Bruni added that the pope is eating regularly, has received the Eucharist daily, and has begun working from the hospital.

On Sunday, the pope watched Sunday Mass on television and received the Eucharist in his hospital room before praying the Angelus in the chapel in the papal medical suite and eating lunch with some hospital staff.

The 86-year-old pope is expected to remain recovering in Rome’s Gemelli hospital for the next week. The Vatican has canceled all of the pope’s audiences until June 18.

While working from the hospital, Pope Francis sent a message to the European People’s Party, the largest political party in the European Parliament, and sent a condolence telegram to the family of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who died on Monday, June 12.

Courtney Mares is a Rome Correspondent for Catholic News Agency. A graduate of Harvard University, she has reported from news bureaus on three continents and was awarded the Gardner Fellowship for her work with North Korean refugees.