Pope Francis hospitalized to treat bronchitis and perform other diagnostic tests, Vatican says

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis was hospitalized Friday to treat a weeklong bout of bronchitis and undergo some necessary diagnostic tests, the Vatican said, confirming the latest issues with the 88-year-old's pontiff's health.

Francis was diagnosed with bronchitis last Thursday, but had continued to hold daily audiences in his Vatican hotel suite. He attended his general audience Wednesday and even presided at an outdoor Mass on Sunday. But he had handed off his speeches for an aide to read aloud, saying he was having trouble breathing.

On Friday, he appeared bloated and pale during the handful of audiences he held before going to the hospital. The bloating is an indication the medication he is taking to treat the lung infection is making him retain water.

Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has long battled health problems, especially bouts of acute bronchitis in winter. He uses a wheelchair, walker or cane when moving around his apartment and recently fell twice, hurting his arm and chin.

Francis was hospitalized at Rome's Gemelli hospital, where he was last admitted in June 2023 to have surgery to remove intestinal scar tissue and repair a hernia in the abdominal wall. A few months before that, he spent three days in the hospital to receive intravenous antibiotics for a respiratory infection.

A Vatican statement said Francis would be admitted after his Friday audiences. In addition to regular Vatican officials, the pope met Friday morning with the Slovak prime minister, Robert Fico, and the head of CNN, Mark Thompson.

"This morning, at the end of the audiences, Pope Francis will be admitted to the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic for some necessary diagnostic tests and to continue in a hospital setting treatment for bronchitis that is still ongoing," the statement said.

The Vatican didn’t provide details of the duration of Francis’ hospitalization or what would come of his scheduled events. He has a busy weekend agenda with another special Holy Year event planned, this time honoring artists. On the calendar is an audience with artists Saturday, a Mass on Sunday and a trip to Rome’s famed Cinecitta studios on Monday.

The Vatican announcement, delivered ahead of Francis' hospitalization, came in sharp contrast to the 2023 hospitalization for bronchitis that caused confusion.

Initially, the Vatican had said he had gone in for scheduled tests, but the pontiff later revealed he had felt pain in his chest and was rushed to the hospital where bronchitis was diagnosed. He was put on intravenous antibiotics and was released April 1, quipping as he left that he was “still alive.”

Francis spent 10 days at the same hospital in July 2021 following intestinal surgery for a bowel narrowing. He credited his personal nurse then with saving his life for having insisted he get the problem checked out.

It wasn't the first time he credited a nurse with saving his life. Francis recounted his near-death experience with his youthful lung infection in his recent autobiography “Hope,” in which he credited his survival to a nurse, an Italian nun named Sister Cornelia Caraglio.

“She was an experienced, cultured woman who had worked as a teacher in Greece, and she quickly realized the seriousness of my situation: She called the specialist, who drained one and a half liters of fluid from my lungs. It began a slow and unsteady climb back from the brink between life and death,” he recalled.

It was she who, after the doctor prescribed a certain dose of penicillin and streptomycin, ordered that it be doubled, he recalled.

“She had intuition and practical experience, and certainly no lack of courage," he recalled. "My companions came from the seminary to visit me; some also gave me their blood for transfusions. Gradually the fevers decided to leave me, and the light began to return.”

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