Pope briefly hospitalized after general audience

Pope Francis was taken to hospital for an examination after holding his weekly general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday, the Vatican announced.

The head of the Catholic Church returned to the Vatican shortly afterwards.

According to the Vatican the pope has been suffering from a "mild flu" for a few days, which is why he cancelled several public appearances.

Before visiting the hospital, during the audience the pope said: "I still have a bit of a cold."

The pontiff plans to meet Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a private audience for the first time on Saturday.

The pope's health condition has been the subject of concern for some time now. Recently the pope also had issues with inflammation of the respiratory tract. Last year, he was hospitalized twice.

He is often in a wheelchair during public appearances due to a knee condition.

The pope, born in Argentina, has been in office since 2013. He was the successor to German Pope Benedict XVI, and will mark 11 years in office next month.