On July 4, the 84-year-old Pope underwent intestinal surgery for diverticular stenosis of the colon.

The following day, Matteo Bruni, the director of the Holy See Press Office, said that the Pope “is in good general condition, alert and breathing spontaneously.” He revealed that the Pope underwent a left hemicolectomy—the removal of the left side of his colon—and that the Pope would remain for a week at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome.