Pope Francis was hospitalized on Friday for diagnostic tests and to treat an ongoing case of bronchitis, the Vatican said, reviving concerns about the 88-year old pontiff’s health. In a brief statement, the Vatican said that Francis had held his audiences as usual on Friday morning and was then taken to the Policlinico Agostino Gemelli, a medical facility in Rome, so that he could be treated “in a hospital environment.”
In an evening bulletin, the Vatican said preliminary tests indicated that Francis had a respiratory tract infection and was running a slight fever. The Vatican said he was in “fair” condition. Responding to reporters, Matteo Bruni, a Vatican spokesman, said that “the pope is serene, in a good mood,” and had read some newspapers.
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.
Francis was admitted to the hospital after several audiences this morning, including with Robert Fico, the prime minister of Slovakia, and with Mark Thompson, the chief executive of CNN.
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 that the pope’s agenda would be cleared for the next few days.
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. 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.
During his weekly general audience on Wednesday, Francis stopped reading his prepared remarks and asked the reader to take over. “With my bronchitis I can’t, I hope I will be able to next time,” the pope said.