Pope Francis, who has been suffering from influenza, has been taken to a hospital in Rome for a check-up, Italian news agency ANSA has reported.

The 87-year-old pontiff had earlier skipped a reading at his weekly audience, delegating the task to an aide and telling those gathered he was still not well.

The pope, who has had a number of health issues recently, had cancelled appointments on Saturday and on Monday due to what the Vatican called a mild flu.

On Sunday, he addressed crowds in St Peter's Square as normal, to deliver his Angelus message.

"Dear brothers and sisters, I still have a bit of a cold", Pope Francis said at the audience this morning announcing that someone else would read his catechesis on envy and vainglory, two of the seven deadly sins.

The reading was about one page long.

The pope did speak at the end of his audience, his voice sounding hoarse and coughing a bit, to greet some of those attending and issue calls for peace, as is customary.

In December, the pope was forced to cancel a planned trip to a COP28 climate meeting in Dubai because of the effects of influenza and lung inflammation.

In January, he was unable to complete a speech owing to "a touch of bronchitis". Later in the month he said he was doing better despite "some aches and pains".

As a young man in his native Argentina, Pope Francis had part of a lung removed.

The pope also has difficulty walking, and regularly uses a wheelchair or a cane. This morning, he arrived at his indoor audience in a wheelchair.