By Reuters

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Pope Francis was taken to hospital on Friday to continue treatment of his ongoing bronchitis, the Vatican said, after reportedly struggling to speak in one of his meetings in the morning.

"Pope Francis was admitted to the Policlinico Agostino Gemelli for some necessary diagnostic tests and to continue his treatment for bronchitis, which is still ongoing, in a hospital environment," the Vatican said in a statement.

Francis, who is 88 and has been pontiff since 2013, has suffered from influenza and other health problems several times over the past two years. As a young adult he developed a case of pleurisy and had part of one of his lungs removed, and in recent times he has been prone to lung infections.

Earlier this month, Francis told pilgrims at a weekly audience that he was suffering from a "strong cold," which the Vatican later described as bronchitis.

The pope held several meetings on Friday before going to hospital. One was with Mark Thompson, CEO of the CNN news channel. The pope was "mentally alert but struggling to speak for extended periods due to breathing difficulties," CNN later reported.

The pope also held meetings on Friday with Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, Cardinal Luis Tagle, a senior Vatican official, and with a Catholic philanthropy group based in Puerto Rico.

Video of the pope's meeting with Fico showed Francis sitting at a desk in his Vatican residence, smiling, and speaking in a soft tone.

The pope suffered two falls recently at his Vatican residence, bruising his chin in December and injuring his arm in January.

Despite his periodic health issues and reduced mobility, Francis has kept up a busy schedule, including foreign travel. In September he completed a 12-day tour across Southeast Asia and Oceania, the longest of his papacy.

Rome's Gemelli hospital, the largest in the city, has a special suite for treating popes. Francis spent nine days there in June 2023, when he had surgery to repair an abdominal hernia.