Pope Francis hospitalised for bronchitis treatment

The Vatican said that due to Pope Francis’ hospitalisation, his appointments for the following three days were cancelled.

Pope Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Friday to undergo testing and treatment for bronchitis.

The 88-year-old was hospitalised in the late morning on 14 February following meetings with a number of people, including the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico.

Christopher Lamb, CNN’s Vatican correspondent who saw Francis at the beginning of a meeting with the network’s chief executive Mark Thompson, reported the Pope was mentally alert but struggled to speak for extended periods due to breathing difficulties.

“This morning, at the end of his audiences, Pope Francis will be admitted to the Agostino Gemelli Hospital for some necessary diagnostic tests and to continue treatment for bronchitis, that is still ongoing, in a hospital setting,” the Holy See Press Office reported shortly before 11 a.m.

In another statement released on Friday evening, it said the Pope “has undergone specialist examinations and has begun hospital pharmacological treatment” and that “initial tests indicate a respiratory tract infection”.

“His clinical condition is stable, with a slight fever,” the statement said. The press office director Matteo Bruni told reporters: “The Pope is calm, he is in good spirits, and has read some newspapers.”

The Vatican said that due to Pope Francis’ hospitalisation, his appointments for the following three days were cancelled. Notably, he will no longer hold a Jubilee audience at the Vatican on Saturday 15 February, or a meeting with artists at the historic Cinecittà film studios south of Rome on 17 February.

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 2025 Jubilee of Hope. The Vatican said Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, will celebrate the Mass.

Pope Francis has been sick with bronchitis for over a week. On 6 February, the Vatican announced the Pope would hold most of his meetings that day and the following days in rooms at his Vatican residence so he could rest more.

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 9 February and participated in his weekly general audience on Wednesday.

Pope Francis was previously hospitalised 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.

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