Pope has quick medical checkup at Rome hospital

ROME (CNS) -- Pope Francis returned to the hospital for a brief medical checkup June 6, the Vatican said.

In a statement to journalists, Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, said Pope Francis visited Rome's Gemelli hospital the morning of June 6 "to undergo some clinical examinations and 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, the Italian newspaper La Repubblica said the visit had been scheduled, and consisted of an exam using radiation to provide information about internal organs and tissues.

A CT scan is a commonly used medical scan which uses radiation to obtain images of internal images of the body, but the Vatican did not provide any details about what tests were done.

In March, Pope Francis spent four days in the papal suite of Rome's Gemelli hospital for treatment for 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 bulges in the intestinal wall that led him to get the operation, had returned.

The 86-year-old has said his health is "not like at the beginning of the pontificate," and has canceled some events due to medical reasons. He canceled his day's audiences May 26 due to a fever but returned to his normal schedule the following day and presided over Pentecost Mass in St. Peter's Basilica May 28.