Pope briefly hospitalized after general audience
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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 Roman Catholic Church returned to the Vatican shortly afterwards, it said.
According to the Vatican, the pope who is 87, has been suffering from a "mild flu" for a few days, which is why he cancelled several public appearances.
"I still have a bit of a cold," Francis said during the audience.
The Vatican did not comment on what type of examination was carried out at Gemelli Hospital in central Rome. According to Italian media reports, the pope may have undergone a computer tomography scan to rule out lung complications.
The pontiff plans to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a private audience for the first time on Saturday.
The pope's health has been the subject of concern for some time now. Recently the pope also had issues with an 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.
