Pope John Paul II has been hospitalised on Thursday at the Gemelli clinic in Rome suffering a flu relapse, Vatican spokesperson Joaquin Navarro-Valls said.
He said the pope suffered a relapse on Wednesday, but was not hospitalised until early on Thursday.
”Yesterday [Wednesday] afternoon, the Holy Father suffered a relapse of the flu that affected him in recent weeks. For that reason, he has been hospitalised this morning at the Gemelli for specialised treatment and tests,” Navarro-Valls said.
On Thursday, the pope missed a consistory for the first time in his 26-year pontificate.
On Wednesday, a hoarse Pope John Paul II had addressed pilgrims by video conference from inside his Vatican apartment amid doctors’ concerns that he risked just such a relapse.
The pontiff, who will be 85 in May, remained in his library for the weekly general audience for the first time in his pontificate as a video link was used to broadcast his message to pilgrims in the Vatican’s draughty Paul VI hall.
Though he strained to complete his address, the polyglot pope did however manage to make his usual greetings in English, French, Germany, Spanish, Italian and Polish.
The pope, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, was rushed to hospital last month with acute breathing difficulties related to flu and remained there for almost 10 days. His condition has been closely monitored since. — AFP
