Pope Francis will be hospitalized for several days to be treated for a respiratory infection after experiencing breathing difficulties in recent days, the Vatican said on Wednesday.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni says Francis, 86, does not have COVID-19 but needs several days of therapy.
“Pope Francis is touched by the many messages received and expresses his gratitude for the closeness and prayer,” Bruni said in a statement.
The hospitalization is Francis’ first since he spent 10 days at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital in July 2021 to have 13 inches of his colon removed.
Pope Francis waves from the “Popemobile” as he leaves St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican on March 29, 2023 for his weekly general audience. Massimo Valicchia/NurPhoto via Getty Images
It immediately raised questions about Francis’ general health and his ability to celebrate the busy Holy Week events, which are due to begin with Palm Sunday this weekend.
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Bruni said Francis had been suffering from breathing difficulties in recent days and had gone to the Gemelli for tests.
“The tests showed a respiratory infection (COVID-19 infection excluded) that will require a few days of medical therapy,” Bruni said.
Francis appeared during his regularly scheduled Wednesday general audience in relatively good shape, although he grimaced as he got in and out of the “popemobile.”
Francis had part of a lung removed as a young man because of a respiratory infection, and he often speaks in a whisper. But he has weathered the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic without at least hearing publicly that he has ever tested positive.
To mark the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ papacy
Francis was to celebrate Palm Sunday this weekend, beginning the Vatican’s observance of Holy Week: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil, and finally Easter Sunday on April 9th. He canceled all audiences until Friday, but it was not clear if he would be able to keep Holy Week plans.
Francis has been using a wheelchair for over a year due to sprained ligaments in his right knee and a minor fracture. He has said the injury is healing and has been walking more with a cane lately.
Francis has also said he resisted surgery for knee problems because he didn’t respond well to general anesthesia during the 2021 bowel surgery.
He said shortly after the operation that he had made a full recovery and was able to eat normally. But in a Jan. 24 interview with The Associated Press, Francis said his diverticulosis, or bulge in the intestinal wall, had “returned.”
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