Italian agencies announced that the pope went to the hospital on Tuesday for less than an hour, the time to carry out check-ups.
By NB with AFP
© ALBERTO PIZZOLI / AFP
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Ihe new concern about the health of the sovereign pontiff did not last long. After spending about forty minutes at the Gemelli polyclinic for clinical tests, Francis joined the Sainte-Marthe residence, where he lives in the Vatican. The 86-year-old Argentine pope arrived at 10:40 a.m. at this establishment, to which he had already been admitted two months ago for a respiratory infection, according to the Ansa and AGI agencies.
In March, the Vatican announced that the pope was going to hospital for scheduled check-ups, before admitting he had been having difficulty breathing and was suffering from an infection that required antibiotic treatment. Pope Francis said two weeks ago in an interview with Spanish-language television Telemundo that this “pneumonia” had been treated “in time”. “If we had waited a few more hours, it would have been much more serious,” he said.READ ALSO Pius XII: the secrets of the Vatican archives
As for his knee pain, which forces him to move around in a wheelchair or using a cane, he said he felt “much better”. “Some days are more painful than others, like today, but that’s part of the recovery,” he said.
The pope, whose health appears increasingly fragile, had also canceled his appointments on May 26 due to a feverish state, which however did not require hospitalization. He resumed his activities the next day.
Three scheduled trips
The health of Jorge Bergoglio, elected in 2013, regularly fuels speculation on the possibility of a renunciation of his office and on his succession. He has repeatedly said he would consider resigning, like his predecessor Benedict XVI, who died in December, if his health were to fail, but he recently claimed that was not on the table.
Despite these developments, Francis continues to travel: the Vatican published on Tuesday the program of his visit to Portugal from August 2 to 6, on the occasion of World Youth Days (WYD), which will see the sovereign pontiff travel to Lisbon and at the Marian Shrine of Fatima. The pope must also go to Mongolia at the beginning of September, as well as to Marseilles on September 23.