By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Pope Francis on Tuesday visited Rome’s Gemelli hospital where he had a brief check-up and has since returned to the Vatican, the Holy See’s press office said in a statement.
The visit according to the statement was to carry out “some clinical tests” after which the pope returned to the Vatican before midday.
Francis, who is 86 and has suffered a number of ailments in recent years.
In March, he spent five days in the same hospital with a lung infection and last month, he skipped audiences on one day due to a fever.
Italian media reported that the pope spent around 40 minutes at a Gemelli department specialised in treating elderly patients, arriving at 10:40 a.m. local time (08:40 GMT) before being driven away at around 11:20 a.m..
The pope, who marked the 10th anniversary of his pontificate in March, often uses a wheelchair or a cane to walk because of persistent knee pain.
In July 2021, he had part of his colon removed in an operation aimed at addressing a painful bowel condition called diverticulitis. He said earlier this year that the condition had returned.
The pontiff is also missing part of one lung, which was removed when he was a young man in his native Argentina.
