Retiring New York Cardinal Edward M. Egan was hospitalized Saturday night with stomach pains as doctors first scheduled and then postponed an operation to install a pacemaker at St Vincent's Hospital Manhattan. The New York Times reports that Cardinal Egan, who turned 77 on Thursday, experienced stomach pain and was driven in his private car to St Vincent's late Saturday night, and the doctors ordered him held overnight for further testing, said Joseph Zwilling, director of communications for the archdiocese.
On Sunday, doctors scheduled the pacemaker operation for Monday morning, but then postponed the operation, telling Cardinal Egan that it was not an emergency and that he should get his strength back and eliminate his stomach pain first, Mr Zwilling said.
It was unclear on Sunday whether there was a connection between his stomach pains and the recommendation for a pacemaker.
The cardinal was feeling better in the afternoon, but it was too soon to predict whether he would lead Masses during Holy Week or on Easter next Sunday, Mr. Zwilling said.
The hospitalization kept him from celebrating Palm Sunday Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Sunday, as he has every year since his first as archbishop in 2001.
"At this point, we'll wait to see how the cardinal is feeling later in the week, and what his doctors advise," Mr. Zwilling said.
"The cardinal is awake and alert, and his stomach pains have decreased," Mr. Zwilling added.
"He expressed his disappointment at not being able to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass at the Cathedral of Saint Patrick."
The cardinal has no known history of heart trouble, Mr. Zwilling said.
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(Source: CTHUS)