Advertisement

Vatican: Pope Francis Has Checkup at Rome Hospital

Pope Francis at his Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on May 31, 2023. | Vatican Media
Hannah Brockhaus

By Hannah Brockhaus

Vatican, 06 June, 2023 / 8:22 pm (ACI Africa).

Pope Francis went to a Rome hospital’s center for the elderly for a visit on Tuesday, according to Italian media reports.

Italian news agency ANSA reported that Pope Francis spent about 40 minutes at Gemelli Hospital before returning to his Vatican residence shortly before noon on June 6.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni issued a brief statement June 6 confirming media reports.

Bruni said: “This morning Pope Francis went to Gemelli Hospital to undergo some clinical examinations and returned to the Vatican before noon.”

According to its website, Gemelli Hospital’s center for elderly patients has a day hospital as well as areas for acute patients, rehabilitation, neuropsychology, and research.

Advertisement

Pope Francis, 86, canceled meetings on May 26 due to a fever. He resumed his normal activities the next day.

At the end of March he was hospitalized for four days for a lung infection.

Since early 2022 the pope has suffered from knee pain. He started to have difficulty standing and walking and has been using a cane and wheelchair for over a year.

He has also dealt this year with a recurrence of diverticulitis, a painful inflammation of bulges in the large intestine, for which he was operated on in July 2021.

Despite his recent medical challenges, the Vatican recently announced the pope’s intention to visit Mongolia Aug. 31–Sept. 1.

More in Africa

Kenya

“We are all equal”: Congolese Cardinal Calls for Reforms for “disadvantaged” Women in Church, Society

Read the article

Francis is also scheduled to be in Lisbon, Portugal, for World Youth Day Aug. 2–6. The trip also includes a visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima.

This story was updated at 6:39 a.m. MDT with the statement from Matteo Bruni.

Hannah Brockhaus

Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency's senior Rome correspondent. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.

Trending

You may also like

Pope Francis arrives at Luxembourg Airport on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, the first stop in a four-day tour of Luxembourg and Belgium, two historically Christian countries in Europe, both of which are experiencing steep declines in religious adherence amid the spread of secularization. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

In a Secularized Luxembourg, Pope Francis Tells Catholics to Evangelize Europe

Before flying to the neighboring country of Belgium on the afternoon of Sept. 26, the 87-year-old pope spent one day...

The Vatican and Microsoft have created a 3D digital model of St. Peter’s Basilica using the latest in artificial intelligence to offer a new way to experience the nearly 2,000-year history of the tomb of St. Peter. / Credit: Microsoft La Basilica Di San Pietro: AI-Enhanced Experience

Discover the History of St. Peter’s Basilica in New Microsoft Oline AI-enhanced 3D Model

Accessible worldwide at virtual.basilicasanpietro.va, the free interactive platform allows anyone in the world to “visit” the virtual 3D model of...

An external view of the Chapel of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem during the procession of the Franciscan friars after the first vespers of the Ascension solemnity on May 8, 2024. The procession circled the chapel three times. / Credit: Marinella Bandini

Catholics Ascend to Mount Olives, Site of Jesus’ Ascension, Only Day They Can Use Chapel Currently Under Muslim Control

“I’m excited to have come to pray in the actual place of the Ascension... I want to be closer to...