The Holy See Press Office sent a message via Telegram on Sunday afternoon, announcing that Pope Francis is heading in for scheduled colon surgery, reported Vatican News.

“This afternoon, His Holiness Pope Francis was taken to A. Gemelli Policlinic in Rome where he will undergo a scheduled surgery for a symptomatic diverticular stenosis of the colon”, the message stated.

Performing the surgery is Prof. Sergio Alfieri. Dr. Alfieri is in the hospital’s Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences and heads the Digestive Surgery Complex Operational Unit. He is specialized in general, digestive, colon-rectal, stomach and pancreatic surgery.

Another “medical bulletin will be issued at the end of the surgery”, the press office’s message concluded.

On June 22, 1962, the construction of the Policlinico, named after Father Agostino Gemelli, started and was officially inaugurated on July 10, 1964. The first functioning wards were those of Surgical Pathology and Medical Pathology, with a total of 70 hospital beds.

In 1977, The Lazio Region gave the Policlinico the title of Regional Hospital including 1,786 hospital beds and 55 cribs.

An important milestone in the history of the Policlinico was the opening of the new DEA (Emergency and Reception Department) in 2002, with the new Emergency Room, an innovative facility suitable for handling major emergencies.