Rome:
Pope Francis, who was hospitalized four days ago for bronchitis, faces a “complicated clinical picture,” the Vatican said Monday.
After initially cancelling the event until Monday, the Vatican said the Pope's Wednesday audience wouldn't move forward either.
“Results of recent and today's tests demonstrate a multi-microbial infection in the respiratory system that has resulted in further changes in treatment,” the Vatican said in a statement.
“All tests performed so far show a complex clinical picture that requires proper hospitalization.”
Vatican sources told AFP that the Pope was receiving oxygen.
Another source of the Pope's aide had claimed he was “not wary” after his Friday entry to Gemeri Hospital in Rome.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told reporters after the new health updates made public on Monday that he was in “Good Humor.”
However, the development will raise new concerns about the Argentine Pope, which has suffered from an increase in health issues in recent years.
“Weakening”
Before his entry, after his usual Friday morning meeting, Francis admitted he had difficulty breathing and asked his aide several times to read his speech aloud on his behalf.
In a general audience every week last Wednesday, he read his speech and said, “I hope I can do it next time,” and even when he read his speech, he said, “I can't.”
A source close to the Pope told AFP Monday that Francis was recognized two weeks later, “very busy.”
However, the source added: “I'm not wary.”
Previously, Bruni said Francis had his third “peaceful” night at the hospital, where he had breakfast and read the newspaper on Monday morning.
The Pope, whose lungs had been removed as a young man, suffers from health problems, but continues to maintain a very busy schedule.
He escaped from last year's Good Friday event after catching what the Vatican called “light flu,” but led the Easter service as planned.
A year ago, in March 2023, Francis was admitted to the hospital three nights with antibiotic-cured bronchitis.
Another match of bronchitis led him to cancel his visit to Dubai in December 2023 and attended the United Nations COP28 Climate Change Conference.
The Pope also underwent surgery for hernia in June 2023, and in 2021 he underwent surgery for a variety of diverticulitis, a pocket inflammation that occurs inside the intestine.
He has been using a wheelchair since 2022 due to persistent knee pain and has used a cane in rare moments.
Francis also collapsed several times in the past few months, injuring his forearm in January and a major bruise in his right jaw caused by a fall from his bed in December.
However, despite his health issues, Francis remains an active pope.
In September 2024, he completed his Asia-Pacific tour of four countries. This is the longest in the Pope by period and distance.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published by Syndicate Feed.)
