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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Robert Dex

Pope Francis has scan after flu forces him to cancel planned meetings

Pope Francis went to hospital in Rome on Saturday for a scan after flu forced him to cancel planned activities.

A Vatican statement said the 86-year-old pontiff had already returned to his residence in the Vatican after undergoing the CT scan at the Gemelli Isola hospital in central Rome early on Saturday afternoon which ruled out lung complications .

Part of one of the Pope's lungs was removed when he was a young man in his native Argentina.

His next public appearance is scheduled for Sunday, when he is expected to address crowds in his weekly Angelus message in St. Peter's Square.

He is also scheduled to attend the COP28 climate conference in Dubai from December 1-3, where he is expected to have nearly an entire day of bilateral meetings with world leaders attending the event.

Earlier this month, he skipped reading a prepared speech for a meeting with European rabbis because he had a cold, but appeared to be in good health during a meeting with children just hours later.

In June, he had surgery on an abdominal hernia, spending nine days in hospital. He appears to have recovered fully from that operation.

On Saturdays, he usually holds regular meetings with Vatican officials, including a weekly one with the head of the Vatican department that oversees the appointment of bishops, as well as private audiences.

His agenda this Saturday included a meeting scheduled with the president of Guinea Bissau.

Francis, who will turn 87 next month, spent three days at Gemelli in April for what the Vatican said was bronchitis after he had trouble breathing. He was discharged after receiving intravenous antibiotics.Francis spent 10 days at the same hospital in July 2021 following intestinal surgery for a bowel narrowing. He was readmitted in June of this year for an operation to repair an abdominal hernia and remove scarring from previous surgeries.When asked about his health in a recent interview, Francis quipped in reply what has become his standard line — "Still alive, you know."

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