Beloved former South African president Nelson Mandela was hospitalized in Pretoria, according to a statement from current president Jacob Zuma.

Madiba has had a long-standing abdominal complaint and doctors feel it needs proper specialist medical attention.

We wish him a speedy recovery and assure him of the love and good wishes of all South Africans and people throughout the world.

Apparently this was a planned hospitalization on advice from his doctors and not an emergency, as some media outlets initially surmised. CNN is now reporting that the hospitalization was for removal of a hernia, a medical procedure delicate enough that some might feel the need to discuss it in euphemisms.

"People need not panic. This was planned ... Mandela has had abdominal pains for sometime," said Keith Khoza, a spokesman for the ruling African National Congress.

Now that we know the circumstances of the hospitalization — and that Mandela will be released in two days — we can breathe a collective sigh of relief. Accordingly, "Nelson Mandela" is no longer a Twitter trending topic, having fallen below "Justin Is Our Sexpanther" and "Demi Is Our Unbroken Skyscraper."

[Image via AP]