Updated

A Vatican official says that a former papal diplomat charged with the sexual abuse of boys was hospitalized and put in intensive care ahead of the opening of his trial at the Vatican.

The trial against Jozef Wesolowski had been scheduled to open on Saturday in a Vatican courtroom. Now the judge is expected to immediately adjourn to a later date.

There were no details available immediately about Wesolowski's medical condition.

Wesolowski, 66, faces charges that he sexually abused shoeshine boys in the Dominican Republic and possessed child pornography.

His trial was seen as a high-profile way for Pope Francis with to make good on pledges to punish high-ranking churchmen involved in sex abuse of minors, either by molesting children or by systematically covering up for priests who did.