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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. He has, however, handed off his speeches
for an aide to read aloud, saying he was having trouble
breathing.
Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has
long battled health problems, especially long bouts of acute
bronchitis in winter. He uses a wheelchair, walker or cane when
moving around his apartment and recently fell twice, hurting his
arm and chin.
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 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.
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.
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,
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