Concern about the pontiff

Pope Francis hospitalized again

Pope Francis was taken to the Gemelli di Roma hospital on Wednesday morning.

(Bild: AFP)

According to Italian media reports, Pope Francis has been treated in hospital again. The 87-year-old was recently suffering from flu. It is said to be merely a "check-up appointment".

Pope Francis would have gone to hospital immediately after the audience on Wednesday morning.

According to the Italian daily newspaper "Corriere della Sera", it is said to be a series of examinations that the Pope has to undergo. This is likely to involve a computer tomography scan to check the condition of his lungs after the "mild flu" and cold he has had in recent days.

The examinations are expected to last until the early afternoon, after which the head of the Church is due to return to the Vatican. The Vatican is "not very worried" and it is not the first time that the 87-year-old has had to undergo a CT scan.

Pope's secretary reassures
In the morning, he apologized to his guests during his audience: "I still have a bit of a cold." According to his secretary, he only resumed all his duties on Wednesday and was "fine".

The Pope at the last Angelus prayer

(Bild: AFP)

Pope suffering from many aches and pains
The Pope, who has been in office since 2013, has been experiencing increasing health problems for some time. In recent months, the head of more than 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide has repeatedly had problems with inflammation of the respiratory tract.

Last year, the pontiff was hospitalized twice in a clinic in Rome, including undergoing abdominal surgery. Francis now often sits in a wheelchair during public appearances due to knee pain. Born in Argentina, he will celebrate eleven years in office next month as the successor to German Pope Benedict XVI.