Current:Home > NewsPope Francis visits hospital for tests as he battles the flu, Vatican says-LoTradeCoin
Pope Francis visits hospital for tests as he battles the flu, Vatican says
View Date:2024-12-23 23:40:31
Vatican City — Pope Francis, who has been suffering from the flu, was brought to a hospital in central Rome after the papal audience on Wednesday, arriving at the Gemelli Hospital on Tiber Island in a small white Fiat 500 and leaving again under escort in the same car after a short period. The Vatican said after the visit that he was taken to the hospital "for some diagnostic tests," after which he returned to the Vatican.
The 87-year-old pope was pushed in a wheelchair into the audience hall at the Vatican earlier in the day, appearing weary as he dropped heavily into his seat. In recent weeks he has walked the short distance to his chair, but he has been struggling with mild flu symptoms over the past week.
The pope also canceled appointments Saturday and Monday due to the flu, but appeared as usual for the Sunday blessing from a window overlooking St. Peter's Square.
Last week, Francis coughed repeatedly during Ash Wednesday services that he presided over at a Roman church, and opted not to participate in the traditional procession that inaugurates the church's Lenten season.
This time of year in 2020, just as the coronavirus pandemic was starting to hit Italy, Francis also suffered a bad cold that forced him to cancel several days of official audiences and his participation in the Vatican's annual spiritual retreat. The Vatican had already scrubbed the retreat for this year in favor of personal spiritual exercises
The Argentine pope had part of one lung removed as a young man because of a respiratory infection, and in 2021 had a chunk of his colon removed because of an intestinal inflammation. He has used a wheelchair and cane since last year because of strained knee ligaments and a small knee fracture that have made walking and standing difficult.
The pope used his brief words at the end of Wednesday's audience to mark the 25th anniversary of the ratification of the Anti-Personnel Mines Convention, expressing his "closeness to the numerous victims of these insidious devices that remind us of the dramatic cruelty of war."
He also appealed for peace in the Middle East and Ukraine, and prayed for the victims of attacks in Burkina Faso and Haiti.
At the end of the audience, the pope spent about an hour greeting the faithful from his wheelchair, stopping to talk, bless babies and exchange gifts.
- In:
- Pope Francis
- Vatican City
- Flu Season
- Pope
- Pneumonia
- Influenza
veryGood! (333)
Related
- Atlanta man dies in shootout after police chase that also kills police dog
- Los Angeles Zoo sets record with 17 California condor chicks hatched in 2024
- Member of an Arizona tribe is accused of starting a wildfire that destroyed 21 homes on reservation
- A new fossil shows an animal unlike any we've seen before. And it looks like a taco.
- Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow's Son Moses Martin Reveals His Singing Talents at Concert
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Airline Food
- Third man pleads guilty in connection with threats and vandalism targeting New Hampshire journalists
- How USA Basketball saved coach Jim Boylen after he lost brother, marriage, NBA job
- See Chris Evans' Wife Alba Baptista Show Her Sweet Support at Red One Premiere
- Biotech company’s CEO pleads guilty in Mississippi welfare fraud case
Ranking
- Fate of Netflix Series America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Revealed
- Hydrothermal explosion at Yellowstone National Park's Biscuit Basin damages part of boardwalk
- Strike at plant that makes truck seats forces production stoppage for Missouri General Motors
- 10 to watch: Lee Kiefer made US fencing history. Now she chases repeat Olympic gold
- Todd Golden to continue as Florida basketball coach despite sexual harassment probe
- The Messi effect: MLS celebrates record All-Star Game attendance, rising engagement
- CoinBearer Trading Center: What is decentralization?
- Home of the 76ers, Flyers needs a new naming rights deal after Wells Fargo pulls out
Recommendation
-
Suspect arrested after deadly Tuskegee University homecoming shooting
-
BMW recalls over 291,000 SUVs because interior cargo rails can detach in crash, raising injury risk
-
NASA releases eye-popping, never-before-seen images of nebulae, galaxies in space
-
See Timothée Chalamet sing as Bob Dylan in 'A Complete Unknown' trailer
-
Whoopi Goldberg Shares Very Relatable Reason She's Remained on The View
-
NovaBit Trading Center: What is Bitcoin?
-
Pregnant Hailey Bieber Confirms Husband Justin Bieber Gifted Her Stunning New Ring
-
Strike Chain Trading Center: The Importance of the US MSB License