Pope Francis’ upcoming commitments appeared increasingly in query Monday as he spent a fourth day within the hospital with a respiratory tract infection that has already sidelined him longer than a 2023 hospitalization for pneumonia.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Francis, 88, ate breakfast and browse the newspapers Monday morning and was continuing his unspecified drug therapies. A more detailed medical update was expected later within the day.
Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital in a “fair” condition on Friday after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened. Doctors confirmed a respiratory tract infection and prescribed “absolute rest” alongside unspecified drug therapies. Subsequent updates said his slight fever had gone away and that he was in “stable” condition.
The Argentine pope, who had a part of one lung removed after a pulmonary infection as a young man, is a known workaholic who keeps up a grueling pace despite his increasingly precarious health.
There has been no word on how long his hospital stay might last.
When he had a nasty case of pneumonia in 2023, he left after three days and only acknowledged after the undeniable fact that he had been admitted urgently after feeling faint and having a pointy pain in his chest. This time around, Francis insisted on ending his morning audiences Friday before leaving the Vatican, despite the fact that he was having trouble speaking at length because he was in need of breath.
The Holy See has only confirmed cancelled appointments through Monday. Francis was presupposed to have gone to Rome’s Cinecitta film studios to satisfy with artists as a part of the Catholic Church’s Holy Year celebrations.
While his private audiences are rarely announced with much advance notice, the pope’s next scheduled appointment is his weekly general audience Wednesday. Beyond that, he’s scheduled to preside on Sunday on the ordination of deacons as a part of a Holy Year weekend dedicated to deacons. Francis’ participation in each appears unsure, but they continue to be on the official Vatican schedule.
When he missed the Jubilee Mass dedicated to artists this past Sunday, a cardinal stood in for him.
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