Pope Francis had a short visit to the Gemelli hospital on Rome's Tiber Island on Wednesday after this weekly general audience for some "diagnostic tests", the Vatican press office said The press office confirmed that pope returned to the Vatican after the flying hospital visit.
During the audience, the pontiff said he had not totally recovered after scaling down his schedule over the last few days due to flu-like symptoms.
"I still have a bit of a cold," Francis said during the audience in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall.
The pontiff had one of his aides of him, Msgr.
Filippo Ciampanelli, read out his catechesis during the audience, as he has done on other occasions when he has been under the weather.
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