Pope Francis in hospital for abdominal surgery

STORY: Pope Francis was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Wednesday for his second abdominal surgery in two years, according to the Vatican.

It said the 86-year-old pontiff's medical team recently decided that surgery was required on his abdominal wall to repair a type of hernia called a laparocele, which sometimes forms over a scar, often from a previous surgery.

General anesthetic is required for the procedure, with the pope expected to stay in hospital for, quote, "several days" to recover.

Pope Francis made no mention of the planned operation at his weekly audience at the Vatican on Wednesday morning, where he appeared in good spirits.

He'd spent 40 minutes having a check-up at Gemelli hospital the previous day.

The pope marked the 10th anniversary of his pontificate in March.

He now often uses a wheelchair or a cane to walk because of persistent knee pain. However, he has been reluctant to undergo surgery for it.

Pope Francis has suffered a series of health setbacks in recent months.

He spent five days at the Gemelli hospital at the end of March with a lung infection and last month skipped audiences for a day due to a fever.