POPE BENEDICT XVI TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER FALL - Suffered Broken Wrist

Pope Benedict XVI vacationing in Aosta, Italy

LET US PRAY FOR THE HOLY FATHER

07/17/2009 04:32 PM

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI was taken to a hospital in northern Italy on Friday after slipping and falling during his vacation in the Alps, a Vatican spokesman said. Benedict "slipped and got hurt" but "it doesn't seem to be serious," the Rev. Federico Lombardi said.Lombardi said the pope went to the hospital in the town of Aosta for an examination after the accident. He said the Vatican would issue a statement later Friday after the tests were concluded.The ANSA news agency reported that Benedict arrived at the hospital by car and walked into the first aid ward with an aide. Tiziano Trevisan, a spokesman at the Umberto Parini hospital in Aosta, said an X-ray had been taken of one of the pope's wrists.Since Monday, Benedict has been vacationing at chalet in the village of Les Combes in the Valle d'Aosta region near the French border.Benedict's predecessor, John Paul II, also spent several summer at Les Combes. While John Paul liked to hike, Benedict spends most of his time inside the chalet that looks out on Mount Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps. - AP

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VATICAN CITY — Hospital officials and the Vatican say Pope Benedict XVI broke his right wrist in a fall during his vacation in the Alps.Tiziano Trevisan, a spokesman at the Umberto Parini hospital in Aosta, told The Associated Press, "The pope will be held for a few hours as the doctors treat his fracture. He will then stay for observation."Trevisan said doctors had taken an X-ray of the pope's right wrist and found a small fracture. The pope is 82 and has been healthy during his five-year pontificate.Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said earlier that Benedict "slipped and got hurt" but "it doesn't seem to be serious."Lombardi said the pope went to the hospital in Aosta for an examination after the accident. - AP