Pope Francis read the newspapers and had breakfast on Sunday after a second night sleeping well on the hospital where the 88-year-old pope is being treated for a respiratory tract infection, the Vatican said.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said he expected to offer an additional update later within the day. He noted that substantially recent detailed medical information will not be forthcoming given it’s a Sunday.
The Argentine pope, a known workaholic who keeps up a grueling pace despite his many ailments, was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Friday after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened. It was his fourth hospitalization since his 2013 election and raised questions on his increasingly precarious health.
Doctors confirmed a respiratory tract infection and prescribed “absolute rest” alongside unspecified drug therapies. Francis skipped his traditional Sunday noon blessing, declining to even come to his hospital window to wave to a small crowd below that had gathered in hopes of cheering him on.
The @Pontifex social media account, which will not be written by the pope himself, thanked people for his or her prayers on Sunday. “Thank you for the love, prayer and closeness with which you might be accompanying me in today,” the post read.
Francis had a part of one lung removed after a lung infection when he was a young man and is vulnerable to respiratory infections. In 2023, he spent three days at Gemelli to be treated for what he later revealed was an acute case of pneumonia.
Despite his Feb. 6 bronchitis diagnosis, Francis had kept up a frenetic pace of late, packing his days with private and public audiences while taking up the added obligations of steering the Catholic Church through its Holy Year.
The Vatican has canceled his events through Monday a minimum of. On Sunday, a Holy Year Mass he was presupposed to preside over for visiting artists was as an alternative celebrated by the Vatican culture minister.
The Vatican hasn’t specified what variety of respiratory tract infection the pope has. Sometimes bronchitis can result in pneumonia, a deeper and way more serious infection of the lungs’ air sacs. Treatment varies by severity but can include providing oxygen through a nasal tube or mask, intravenous fluids — and treatment of the underlying reason behind the infection.
___
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely chargeable for this content.
