Pope Francis remains in good spirits as he battles a respiratory infection that required the 88-year-old head of the Roman Catholic Church to be hospitalized last week, where he will remain amid a change in therapy.
The pontiff was sent to Agostino Gemelli Hospital in Rome last Friday, canceling multiple meetings. According to a Monday update from the Holy See Press Office shared by Vatican News, the tests they have carried out “are indicative of a complex clinical picture that will require appropriate hospitalization.”
“The results of the medical tests carried out over the past few days and today have shown a polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract, which has led to a further change in therapy,” the Holy See stated.
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Francis is “in good spirits,” Holy See Press Office Director Matteo Bruni told journalists on Monday. The pope continues to communicate with Argentine-born Father Gabriel Romanelli of the Holy Family Parish in the Gaza Strip.
“We heard his voice. It is true; he is more tired. He himself said, ‘I have to take care of myself.’ But you could hear the clear voice; he listened to us well,” Romanelli said, as quoted by Vatican News.
“[On Sunday,] Pope Francis sent a written message to my cell phone. … We hope that the recovery will happen soon and that he can return to St. Peter’s to continue his mission and work.”
After completing his scheduled meetings last Friday, Francis was admitted to a local hospital to deal with what was reported as being a bout with bronchitis that had been occurring for the past several days to a couple of weeks.
As a result of the hospitalization, the pontiff canceled a Saturday jubilee general audience and an audience at an artists’ studio. A mass he was supposed to officiate was instead presided over by Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça.
Francis had to stay at the Gemelli Hospital for a few days in 2023 in response to what Bruni labeled “some respiratory difficulties.”
“The outcome of these [tests] showed a respiratory infection (excluding Covid-19 infection) that will require a few days of appropriate hospital medical therapy,” Bruni said in 2023.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio and a native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Francis was elected head of the Catholic Church in 2013, replacing Pope Benedict XVI, who had resigned from the office.
Among his notable milestones, Francis is the first Latin American pope, the first Jesuit to become pope and, in 2015, became the first pope to address a joint session of U.S. Congress.
