According to reports from the Vatican, Pope Francis is currently being hospitalized to treat bronchitis and undergo some necessary diagnostic tests. confirming the latest issues with the 88-year-old’s pontiff’s health.
Francis was diagnosed with bronchitis last Thursday, but he has continued to hold daily audiences in his Vatican hotel suite, attended his general audience Wednesday and even presided at an outdoor Mass on Sunday.
However, recently he has handed off his speeches for an aide to read aloud, saying he was having trouble breathing.
A Vatican statement said Francis would be admitted at the end of his Friday audiences. In addition to regular Vatican officials, the pope met Friday morning with the Slovak prime minister, Robert Fico, and the head of CNN, Mark Thompson.
“This morning, at the end of the audiences, Pope Francis will be admitted to the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic for some necessary diagnostic tests and to continue in a hospital setting treatment for bronchitis that is still ongoing,” the statement said.
The Vatican didn’t provide details of the duration of Francis’ hospitalization or what would come of his scheduled events. He has a busy weekend agenda with another special Holy Year event planned, this time honoring artists. On the calendar is an audience with artists Saturday, a Mass on Sunday and a trip to Rome’s famed Cinecitta studios on Monday.
Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has long battled health problems, especially long bouts of acute bronchitis during the winter months.
He also uses a wheelchair, walker or cane when moving around his apartment and recently fell twice, hurting his arm and chin, further speculating the status of his overall health.
Ever since his diagnosis, Francis has appeared bloated, an indication the medication he was taking to treat the lung infection was making him retain water.
Francis is currently being hospitalized at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, where he was last hospitalized in June 2023 to have surgery to remove intestinal scar tissue and repair a hernia in the abdominal wall.
A few months before that, he spent three days in the hospital to receive intravenous antibiotics for a respiratory infection.
The Vatican announcement, delivered ahead of Francis’ hospitalization, came in sharp contrast to the 2023 hospitalization for bronchitis that caused confusion.
Initially, the Vatican had said he had gone in for scheduled tests, but the pontiff later revealed he had felt pain in his chest and was rushed to the hospital where bronchitis was diagnosed. He was put on intravenous antibiotics and was released April 1, quipping as he left that he was “still alive.”
Francis spent 10 days at the same hospital in July 2021 following intestinal surgery for a bowel narrowing.
Speculation about Francis’ health is a constant in Vatican circles, especially after Pope Benedict XVI broke 600 years of tradition and resigned from the papacy in 2013.
Benedict’s aides have attributed the decision to a nighttime fall that he suffered during a 2012 trip to Mexico, after which he determined he couldn’t keep up with the globe-trotting demands of the papacy.
Francis has said that he has no plans to resign anytime soon, even if Benedict “opened the door” to the possibility.
In his autobiography “Hope” released this month, Francis said that he hadn’t considered resigning even when he had major intestinal surgery.
This is an on-going story. Check back for further updates.