Pope Francis prayed before a relic of St. Therese of Lisieux at the beginning of his general audience in St. Peter's Square, and shortly before going to the hospital for an abdominal surgery, on June 7, 2023. / Daniel Ibanez/CNAVatican City, Jun 7, 2023 / 04:37 am (CNA).One of Pope Francis last gestures before undergoing abdominal surgery on Wednesday was to pray before a relic of St. Thérèse of Lisieux.A relic of the French Carmelite nun, also known as St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, was present on the platform in front of St. Peter s Basilica during the pope s weekly general audience June 7.Before beginning the audience, Francis venerated the relics of St. Thérèse in a moment of silent prayer. He also placed a single, white rose on the table in front of the reliquary.Pope Francis was taken to Rome s Gemelli Hospital for abdominal surgery under general anesthesia at the end of the morning audience, shortly after 11 a.m. Rome time, the Vatican said. Relics of St. Thérèse
Pope Francis greeted pilgrims in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, a few hours before he will be hospitalized for abdominal surgery under general anesthesia. / Daniel Ibanez/CNARome Newsroom, Jun 7, 2023 / 03:01 am (CNA).Pope Francis will undergo abdominal surgery under general anesthesia on Wednesday afternoon, the Vatican has confirmed.The operation was planned by the pope s medical team in recent days after it became necessary due to a hernia that was causing recurrent, painful, and worsening symptoms, according to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni. Bruni said that Pope Francis will have a laparotomy and abdominal wall reconstruction with prosthetic material in the early afternoon on June 7. The surgery will attempt to repair an incisional hernia, a type of abdominal wall hernia at the site of a previous surgical incision. In the pope s case, this could be the result of the scarring caused by the pope s colon surgery in July 2021.The pope will be taken to Rome.
Pope Francis on the morning of June 7, 2023 shortly before heading to the hospital for abdominal surgery greets pilgrims at his general audience in St. Peter's Square. / Daniel Ibanez/CNARome Newsroom, Jun 7, 2023 / 10:15 am (CNA).Pope Francis audiences have been canceled until June 18, an Italian Catholic diocese said Wednesday, citing the Prefecture of the Papal Household.The communications office of the Diocese of Teramo-Atri sent a press release June 7 expressing the bishop s closeness to Francis after the pope was hospitalized to undergo abdominal surgery Wednesday afternoon.According to a tweet posted by Vatican News, Holy See Press Office Director Matteo Bruni also told journalists the pope s audiences were suspended until June 18 "as a precautionary measure."Catholics of the Diocese of Teramo-Atri, which is in central Italy s Abruzzo region, were scheduled to meet Pope Francis in Rome in St. Peter s Square on the morning of Saturday, June 17.Bishop Lorenzo Leuzz
null / ShutterstockWashington D.C., Jun 5, 2023 / 16:50 pm (CNA).The state of Oklahoma approved the country s first-ever religious charter school on Monday. The move will allow public funds to pay the tuition of children attending an online Catholic school run by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa.The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board voted 3-2 to approve St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School in a three-hour-long meeting. The "yes" votes included a new member who was appointed by Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt on Friday. In a statement, the governor applauded the decision. "This is a win for religious liberty and education freedom in our great state, and I am encouraged by these efforts to give parents more options when it comes to their child s education," Stitt said. "Oklahomans support religious liberty for all and support an increasingly innovative educational system that expands choice," the governor added. "Toda
Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento, California. / Credit: Randy Miramontez/ShutterstockBoston, Mass., Jun 5, 2023 / 15:00 pm (CNA).California s governor and attorney general are accusing the state of Florida of "kidnapping" a group of 16 South American migrants in Texas, flying them to Sacramento, and dropping them off in front of the Diocese of Sacramento s headquarters.California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the migrants were brought by private plane and had "no prior arrangement in place."The news comes amid a heated national debate over border security and immigration as hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants, many of whom are unaccompanied children, have crossed America s southern border in the past year alone.It s unclear if the migrants, who are reportedly from Colombia and Venezuela, are asylum seekers. CNA asked California Gov. Gavin Newsom s office on Monday but did not immediately receive a response.Florida Gov. Ron DeSanti