Pope's second night after operation goes well: Vatican

ROME - Pope Francis had a good second night in hospital after undergoing hernia surgery, the Vatican said on Friday.

"Last night also went well," the Vatican press office said in a short note, adding that there would be a further update later.

Francis (86) underwent a three-hour operation at the Gemelli hospital in Rome on Wednesday and was said to be cheerful when he woke up.

In a statement on Thursday evening, the Vatican said he had been fed a "water diet" and his post-operative recovery appeared to be proceeding as expected.

It said the pope had called to thank the mother of a little boy he had baptised while both the pope and the boy were being treated at the Gemelli at the end of March after the family sent him a poster wishing him a speedy recovery.

At the time, the pope had been hospitalised for three nights with a respiratory infection, which was cured with antibiotics.

In July 2021, he also underwent surgery at the Gemelli for a type of diverticulitis, an inflammation of small bulges or pockets that can develop in the lining of the intestine, spending 10 days in hospital.

This time, the pontiff had been suffering from a hernia on the site of a scar from a previous operation, his surgeon Sergio Alfieri told reporters after the operation on Wednesday.

He was placed under general anaesthesia and the abdominal wall was repaired with a surgical mesh, Alfieri said.

All papal audiences have been cancelled until June 18 to give the pontiff time to recover.

Francis has been head of the worldwide Catholic Church since 2013, when his predecessor Benedict XVI became the first pope since the Middle Ages to resign, citing his failing mental and physical health.