Pope Francis reportedly visits hospital in Rome for tests

Witnesses say pontiff – treated for bronchitis two months ago – later greeted guards on return to Vatican

Pope Francis briefly went to a hospital for tests and returned to the Vatican, witnesses and news reports have said, two months after he was hospitalised with an acute case of bronchitis.

Francis went to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Tuesday morning for tests, the ANSA news agency said. Witnesses at the Vatican’s Perugino gate, one of the main entrances to the city state, told the Associated Press Francis returned to the Vatican a short while later and greeted guards as he usually does.