Rome: Pope Francis was hospitalized on Friday for medical tests and treatment for bronchitis, marking the last health concern for the 88 -year -old Catholic Church leader.
Francis, who has been breathless in recent days and delegated officials to read their speeches, held their morning meetings as planned before heading to the Gemelli Hospital in Rome, said the Vatican.
It was hospitalized for “some necessary diagnostic tests and to continue the treatment for ongoing bronchitis in a hospital,” he said.
Two hearings that will be held by the Pope on Saturday and Monday were canceled later, while a cardinal will lead Mass on Sunday at Francis’s place.
“The initial evidence indicates a respiratory tract infection,” said the Vatican in an additional statement on Friday night, adding that his condition was “stable, with a slight fever.”
“The Pope is calm, he is in a good mood and has been reading newspapers,” said Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni to journalists shortly after.
The Argentine pontiff, who assumed the position of head of the Catholic Church in 2013, will remain in the Gemelli in a suite used exclusively by potatoes that has its own chapel.
A supporter left a candle with a photo of Pope Francis at the base of the statue of Pope John Paul II at the entrance of the hospital.
The Italian media reported that the Pontiff was admitted after not recovering after illness and said he could be in the hospital for several days.
The Pope, who had part of one of his lungs eliminated when he was young, has asked the assistants several times in the last days to read his speeches out loud in his name.
At his weekly general audience on Wednesday, Francis said that “he still can’t” read his own speeches, adding with a smile: “I hope that next time I can.”
He also held meetings at home last week to help him recover.
On Friday morning, the Vatican confirmed that he had audiences with five visitors, including the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico.
Challenging health problems
The Pontiff has been plagued by health problems in recent years, although it continues to maintain a very busy schedule.
He retired from a Good Friday event last year after catching what the Vatican called a “light flu”, but went on to lead Easter services as planned.
A year earlier, in March 2023, Francis entered the hospital for three nights with bronchitis, which was cured with antibiotics.
Another episode of bronchitis made him cancel a December 2023 visit to Dubai to participate in the United Nations Climate Change Conference for COP28.
The Pope also underwent a hernia operation in June 2023 and in 2021 he underwent surgery for a type of diverticulitis, an inflammation of the pockets that are developed in the intestine lining.
He has been using a wheelchair since 2022 due to persistent knee pain and uses a cane during the rare feet.
Francis has also fallen a couple of times in recent months, he by leading his forearm in January and wearing a great hematoma in his right jaw in December, caused by the demolition of his bed.
However, despite its health problems, Francis rarely rests.
In September 2024, he completed a tour of Asia-Pacific of four nations, the longest of his papacy in terms of duration and distance.
Never take vacations and keep an agenda busy, sometimes with a dozen meetings in one morning.
Their health problems regularly cause speculation about their future, particularly when their predecessor Benedict XVI resigned from health in 2013.
While Francis has left the option to resign if he cannot carry out his duties, he said that for now he does not go anywhere.
In a memory published last year, the Pope wrote that “he had no serious cause to make me think of giving up.”
The resignation is a “distant possibility” that would be justified only in case of “a serious physical impediment,” he wrote.
