Pope returns to hospital for medical, promptly discharged

ROME (CNS) — Pope Francis returned to hospital for a brief medical examination on June 6, the Vatican announced.

In a statement to reporters, Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See’s Press Office, said Pope Francis went to Gemelli Hospital in Rome on the morning of June 6 “to undergo clinical examinations and that he had returned to the Vatican before noon”.

According to Italian news agency ANSA, the pope entered the hospital at 10:40 a.m. for a visit to the hospital’s geriatric medical center. He reportedly left the hospital at 11:20 a.m. to return to the Vatican.

Citing Vatican sources, Italian newspaper La Repubblica said the visit was planned and consisted of an examination using radiation to provide information about internal organs and tissues.

A CT scan is a commonly used medical scanner that uses radiation to image internal images of the body, but the Vatican has not provided any details of the tests performed.

In March, Pope Francis spent four days in the papal suite at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital for treatment of a respiratory infection.

He also spent 10 days there in July 2021, after undergoing a three-hour surgery that removed part of his large intestine. In January, Pope Francis told The Associated Press that his diverticulosis, the inflammation of the bulges in the intestinal wall that led him to have surgery, had returned.

The 86-year-old said his health was “not like at the start of the pontificate” and has canceled some events for medical reasons. He canceled his day’s audiences on May 26 due to a fever but resumed his normal schedule the next day and presided over Pentecost Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on May 28.

Copyright © 2023 Catholic News Service/United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

To print