Pope Francis has cancelled his scheduled events over the next few days after being hospitalised, the Vatican said.
The pontiff, who has been suffering from bronchitis, was admitted to Gemelli hospital in Rome on Friday after reportedly having breathing difficulties during one of his meetings.
In a statement on Friday evening, the Vatican said the pope had been admitted to hospital due to worsening bronchitis and that the first diagnostic tests had shown a “respiratory tract infection”. The pontiff has started “hospital drug therapy”, the statement added, and his “clinical condition is fair; he has a slight fever”.
The pontiff’s planned attendance at an audience on Saturday has been cancelled, while mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica on Sunday will instead be delivered by Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça. A visit to the Cinecittà film studios on Monday has also been cancelled.
Francis, 88, held several meetings on Friday before being taken to hospital, including with Mark Thompson, the CEO of the CNN news channel, which later reported that the pontiff was “mentally alert but struggling to speak for extended periods due to breathing difficulties”.
The pope, who has been blighted by ill-health in recent years, was also hospitalised in March 2023 with acute bronchitis. After being discharged, he said: “I am still alive.” He was readmitted to the Gemelli for health checks in June that year and again in February 2024 after suffering from what he said was “a bit of a cold”.
Francis had part of his lung removed in his early 20s while training to be a priest in his native Argentina. In June 2021, he underwent a colon operation.
He has often been seen in a wheelchair or with a walking stick due to a sciatic nerve pain and a knee problem. In January, he injured his right forearm after falling at his Casa Santa Marta residence and on 1 February he stumbled after his walking stick snapped while entering the Vatican’s auditorium. In early December, Francis hit his chin on his nightstand, reportedly after a fall.
Francis, whose schedule has intensified because of this year’s catholic jubilee, has often alluded to resigning if bad health prevents him from doing his job. In 2023, he revealed he had chosen his burial place – the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in the Esquilino neighbourhood of Rome – breaking with the longstanding tradition of popes being buried in the grottos beneath St Peter’s Basilica.
