Pope Francis has gone to Rome’s Gemelli hospital for a check-up.
Earlier this year, the pope, 86, spent five days in hospital with a lung infection at the end of March, and last month had to skip audiences due to a fever.
The Vatican has so far not commented on the exact reason for his visit on Tuesday, but local reports said he had gone to the department of the hospital which specialised in treating elderly patients.
Over the weekend he delivered a noon prayer in St Peter’s square in the Vatican.
Pope Francis, who marked his 10th year as pontiff in March, has suffered a number of ailments in recent years.
In July 2021 he had part of his colon removed in an operation aimed at addressing a painful bowel condition called diverticulitis.
He is also missing part of one lung, which he had removed when he was a young man in in Argentina.
The Vatican announced plans on Saturday for Francis to visit Mongolia in late August and early September.
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On his visit to the country, he is due to visit a tiny Christian community as part of his aim to visit Catholics on the periphery of the church’s reach.
Statistics provided by the non-profit, Aid To The Church In Need, show that Mongolia is just 2% Christian.
Before that he is due to visit Portugal in early August where he will attend the World Youth Day in Lisbon and visit the Shrine of Fatima.
