THE Archbishop of York has had his appendix removed and spent 13 days in hospital following a serious illness.

Dr John Sentamu, who has now been discharged, was admitted to St Thomas’s Hospital in London with severe gastro-enteritis in the early hours of May 26, an official statement on his website said yesterday.

Further examination two days later revealed a “nasty appendix”, he said, and it was removed in the early hours of May 30.

Dr Sentamu suffered an infection, however, resulting from the toxins of the appendix, and the surgeon had to open the wound so that it could be dressed daily.

The archbishop has had to cancel a number of official engagements as a result of his condition, but hopes to review his diary again early next week.

Yesterday, he was unable to attend the official opening of the Selby College campus, but did send a message of congratulations and a spokeswoman for the college said he hoped to attend the burial of a time capsule next month. The statement said he was grateful for the skill and care of the surgeons, anaesthetists, doctors, nurses, medical staff and chaplains of St Thomas’s Hospital.

It said he also wished to thank those who visited him and anointed him with oil, as well as all who prayed for him regularly, and who had supported him during this illness.

The archbishop said he had been comforted during the most trying times by the words of the Taizé song, “Aber du weißt den Weg für mich” – “God, gather and turn my thoughts to you. With you there is light, you do not forget me. With you there is hope and patience. I don’t understand your ways, but you know the way for me.”

The song is adapted from a passage in Letters and Papers from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Pastor and theologian executed by the Nazis in 1945.

The statement added: “The Archbishop wishes you all joy in the Lord.”

Graham Hutchinson, pastor of York Elim Church and co-chair of the cross-denominational organisation, One Voice York, said he was sorry to hear of the archbishop’s illness.

He said: “I am confident that I speak for that whole network when I assure him of our prayers.”