Pope to have cataract surgery

Pope Francis has said he is to have cataract surgery next year.

The Pope revealed the news as he bid farewell to prisoners at Rome’s Regina Coeli prison after he performed the Holy Thursday ritual of washing the feet of 12 people.

The Pope told them that they must clear their eyes every day so they can see and spread hope.

He said cataracts often make it difficult to see, adding “at my age, for example, cataracts come and you don’t see reality well. Next year I have to have an operation”. He urged inmates to do a daily cleansing of their view on life – a “cataract surgery for the soul”.