Pope Francis goes to Rome hospital for planned intestinal surgery

Vatican City — Pope Francis went Sunday to a Rome hospital for scheduled surgery for a stenosis, or restriction, of the large intestine, the Vatican said.

The brief announcement from the Holy See's press office didn't say exactly when the surgery would be performed but said there would be an announcement when the surgery is complete. Just three hours earlier, Francis had cheerfully greeted the public in St. Peter's Square in keeping with a Sunday tradition and told them he will go to Hungary and Slovakia in September.