Pope Francis in hospital for check-up, has agenda cleared

Pope Francis in hospital for check-up, has agenda cleared

Pope Francis went to Rome's Gemelli hospital for a check-up, his spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a brief statement on Wednesday, raising concerns about the health of the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. A Vatican source said the pope's diary had been cleared to allow for medical tests to continue.

The Vatican gave no details about the condition of the 86-year-old pope. The website of Corriere della Sera newspaper said he had suffered "heart problems" in the morning and was taken to hospital by ambulance. Italian media cast doubt on Bruni's statement that the check-up had been scheduled, saying a television interview with the pope set for Wednesday afternoon had been cancelled at the last moment.

Quoting unnamed medical sources, Ansa news agency said doctors were not worried by the pope's condition following their initial tests. The Vatican made no immediate comment on the reports. Earlier in the day, the pope attended his weekly general audience at the Vatican and had appeared in good health.

Pope Francis suffers from diverticulitis, a condition that can infect or inflame the colon, and had an operation at the Gemelli hospital in 2021 to remove part of his colon. He said in January that the condition had returned and that it was causing him to put on weight, but that he was not overly concerned. He did not elaborate.

He also has a problem with his knee and alternates between using a cane and a wheelchair in his public appearances. Francis told Reuters in an interview last year that he preferred not to have surgery on his knee because he did not want a repeat of long-term negative side effects from anaesthesia that he suffered after the 2021 operation.

Last July, returning from a trip to Canada, Francis acknowledged that his advancing age and his difficulty walking might have ushered in a new, slower phase of his papacy. But since then, he has visited Kazakhstan and Bahrain and made a trip last month to Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.

He has also said this year that he has no plans to resign anytime soon and that if he eventually did it would be for serious heath reasons, such as if he were gravely incapacitated. Asked by Italian Swiss television RSI in an interview broadcast on March 12 what condition would lead him to quit, he said "A tiredness that doesn't let you see things clearly. A lack of clarity, of knowing how to evaluate situations".

The pope is due to preside over a Palm Sunday service on April 2, the start of what is a hectic week of Easter ceremonies.

Pope Francis in hospital for check-up, has agenda cleared
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