After being hospitalized on Friday for bronchitis, Pope Francis has been prescribed “complete rest” and will not be leading his traditional Sunday noon blessing, according to the Vatican.
In a statement issued Saturday evening, the Vatican confirmed that Francis had a respiratory tract infection and said that doctors at the Policlinico Agostino Gemelli, a medical facility in Rome, had “slightly modified” his treatment based on the results of microbiological tests. The Vatican said diagnostic tests carried out Saturday showed “improvement in some values” and that Francis did not have a fever.
The pope’s hospitalization on Friday had revived concerns about the health of the pontiff, who is 88 and has been prone to respiratory infections during the colder winter months.
Francis had a part of one lung removed as a young man, and in recent years, he has been battling a number of health problems, using a wheelchair or a cane to move around. He was hospitalized with bronchitis in 2023, and again a few months later to undergo abdominal surgery for a hernia. In 2021, he had colon surgery. He underwent diagnostic tests at the Gemelli hospital last year after a slight flu.
He has also fallen twice in his suite in recent weeks, bruising his chin in December and injuring an arm last month.
On Friday, Pope Francis was taken to the Gemelli hospital so that doctors could treat an ongoing case of bronchitis “in a hospital environment,” the Vatican said.
The Vatican had announced in early February that Francis had bronchitis, and that “in order to continue his activities” he would be holding his audiences at the Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican guesthouse where he lives, instead of at the Apostolic Palace. In recent weeks, he has complained of respiratory problems, and Vatican aides have been reading his homilies and other addresses in his stead at events. This Sunday, Francis’ noon blessing, the Angelus prayer, will be published, not delivered, the Vatican said Saturday.
Francis has had a full schedule since the New Year’s Eve opening of the 2025 Jubilee, held every 25 years in the Roman Catholic Church. Apart from his usual agenda, he has been presiding over audiences on many Saturdays with hundreds of pilgrims who have come to Rome for the Jubilee, and celebrating Mass at the Vatican on many Sundays. Last weekend, so many people attended one Jubilee event that the Mass was instead celebrated outdoors, in front of St. Peter’s Basilica.
The Vatican announced Friday that the pope’s agenda would be cleared at least until Monday.
“Pope Francis has been kept up-to-date about the many messages of closeness and affection he has received and expressed his gratitude, while asking people to continue to pray for him,” the Vatican said.
