Pope Francis greets members of the Gaudium Et Spes Foundation at the Vatican on Feb. 14, 2025. | Credit: Vatican Media
Catholic leaders across the world united in prayer today for Pope Francis after it was reported the 88-year-old had been hospitalised with bronchitis.
The pope was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital today to undergo testing and treatment for bronchitis after being sick for over a week, the Vatican said. His appointments for the next three days have been cancelled.
“The Holy Father, as a result of the recent exacerbation of bronchitis, has carried out specialised examinations and started a hospital drug therapy,” read a Holy See Press Office statement updating the pope’s condition Friday evening Rome time. “The first examinations performed show a respiratory tract infection. The clinical condition is fair; he presents mild febrile alteration.”
The pope is serene, his mood is good, and he has read a few newspapers, according to Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office.
The 88-year-old pope was hospitalised earlier today following meetings with a number of people, including the prime minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico.
The Vatican said that due to Pope Francis’ hospitalisation, his appointments for the following three days were cancelled. In particular, he will no longer hold a jubilee audience at the Vatican on Saturday, Feb. 15, or a meeting with artists at the historic Cinecittà film studios south of Rome on Feb. 17.
The pope was also scheduled to participate in a Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday for the Jubilee of Artists and the World of Culture, part of the Church’s wider 2025 Jubilee of Hope. The Vatican said Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, will celebrate the Mass.
Despite the illness, which has largely prevented the pontiff from reading his own speeches and homilies, Francis presided at a jubilee Mass for members of the police and armed forces in St. Peter’s Square on Feb. 9 and participated in his weekly general audience on Wednesday.
Pope Francis was also hospitalized for a respiratory infection in March 2023 and cancelled a November 2023 trip to Dubai due to a “very acute infectious bronchitis.”
The pope, who has been suffering from visible breathlessness during recent meetings, has more and more frequently declined to read his prepared remarks to audiences or opted to have the remarks read by a priest aide.
He has faced several health challenges in recent years, including knee problems requiring a wheelchair, respiratory infections, and a fall resulting in a forearm contusion.
Source: CNA