According to an Italian news agency report, Pope Francis, who has been ill with influenza, was brought to a Rome hospital on Wednesday for a check-up.
The 87-year-old pope had earlier informed the faithful he was still ailing by forgoing a reading during his weekly audience on Wednesday and assigning the duty to an assistant.
Due to the virus, the pope also postponed appointments for Saturday and Monday. However, he appeared normal for the Sunday blessing, outside a window that overlooked St. Peter’s Square.
In his brief remarks, the Pope honored the 25 years since the Anti-Personnel Mines Convention was ratified by stating that he was “close to the numerous victims of these insidious devices that remind us of the dramatic cruelty of war. In addition, he prayed for the victims of the assaults in Haiti and Burkina Faso and called for peace in the Middle East and Ukraine.
