The Vatican announced this Friday, February 14, that Pope Francis was hospitalized in Rome for bronchitis.
Pope Francis is hospitalized in a clinic in Rome to treat bronchitis, the Vatican announced on Friday, February 14. Following his morning audiences, during which he received Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, the 88-year-old Argentinian pontiff went to Gemelli Hospital, the Vatican announced in a brief statement.
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The establishment has a specially equipped floor, including a chapel, to receive the pope. Aged 88 and suffering from this illness since last week, he had to be replaced on Wednesday by a religious to read the catechism during his weekly general audience.
“I now allow myself to ask the priest to read. I, with my bronchitis, cannot yet. I hope that I will be able to next time,” said the Pope after reading a few lines of his catechesis.
However, he spoke again at the end of the audience to greet the Italian pilgrims and to ask once again for prayers for peace in the world.
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Pope Francis’ Bad cold
A week ago, the 88-year-old pope had already asked an assistant during the general audience to read the catechesis, saying that he had a “bad cold” which made it “difficult” for him to speak.
Hip problems, knee pain, operations, respiratory infections: Pope Francis, who turned 88 in mid-December, has shown declining health in recent years and suffered several alerts, which have not prevented him from maintaining a busy schedule at the Vatican.
The head of the Catholic Church has been using a wheelchair since 2022 due to persistent knee pain, and has to rely on a cane on the rare occasions he is standing.
Pope Francis’s Health problems
In recent months, he has been forced on several occasions to delegate the reading of his speeches or even to cancel his participation in events for health reasons. In December 2023, Francis, who had a partial lung removed in his youth, had to cancel a visit to Dubai to participate in the UN COP28 on climate change due to bronchitis.
At the end of March, the Argentinian Jesuit had to cancel at the last minute his participation in the Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum in Rome, before presiding over the Easter celebrations two days later.
In June 2023, Jorge Bergoglio was hospitalized for 10 days at the Gemelli hospital in Rome after an abdominal hernia operation under general anesthesia. He was also hospitalized there in March 2023 for three days for bronchitis and for about ten days in July 2021 after a colon operation.
