Pope Francis has scan due to flu, lung complications ruled out

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis went to a hospital in Rome on Saturday for a scan, which the Vatican said had ruled out lung complications after a flu forced him to cancel his 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.

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.

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

Earlier this month, Pope Francis skipped reading a prepared speech for a meeting with European rabbis because he had a cold, but he 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. —Reuters