The pontiff has suffered a number of ailments over recent years, including having part of his colon removed in 2021.

Pope Francis, 86, spent around 40 minutes at Rome's Gemelli hospital having a check-up on Tuesday before returning to the Vatican, Italian media reported. Francis went to a department in the hospital specialised in treating elderly patients and arrived at 1040 local time (0840 GMT) before being driven away at around 1120,

Pope Francis briefly went to a hospital on Tuesday for tests and returned to the Vatican, witnesses and news reports said, two months after he was hospitalized with an acute case of bronchitis. The ANSA news agency said Francis went to Rome’s Gemelli hospital Tuesday morning for tests.

Pope Francis has gone to Rome's Gemelli hospital for a check-up, news agency Ansa and several other Italian media outlets reported on Tuesday, quoting what they said were sources with knowledge of the matter.

The pope spent five days in hospital earlier this year with a lung infection and last month skipped audiences due to a fever. Copyright 2023 Thomson Reuters.