President Muhammadu Buhari has sent a get-well message to the Head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis as he heads in for a scheduled surgery of the colon.
In a statement signed by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, Buhari further called for prayers from Nigerians and the global community as the Pontiff goes in for this routine operation.
The Vatican has disclosed that Pope Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Sunday for scheduled intestinal surgery, saying that this is the first time the Pope has been in hospital since his election in 2013.
Matteo Bruni, spokesman for the Pope, said the Catholic Pontiff , 84, was due to undergo the surgery later today for an intestinal condition that tends to affect older people and can cause abdominal pain.
Pope Francis is said to be suffering from symptomatic diverticular stenosis of the colon, a condition where sac-like pouches protrude from the muscular layer of the colon, leading it to become narrow.
But Pope appeared to be in good health several hours earlier when he addressed thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square for his Sunday blessing and announced a trip to Slovakia and Budapest in September
The sprawling Catholic-run Gemelli hospital and medical school in the northern part of Rome traditionally treats popes and a part of its 10th floor is permanently reserved for them.
