Pope has respiratory tract infection, is in fair condition and running mild fever, Vatican says

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis was hospitalized Friday after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened and was receiving drug therapy for a respiratory tract infection, the Vatican said. It was the latest setback to the 88-year-old’s pontiff’s health that forced him to cancel his agenda through Monday at least.

Francis was serene, in good spirits and had read some newspapers after arriving at Rome’s Gemelli hospital after presiding over his morning audiences, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.

In an evening bulletin, the Vatican said preliminary tests showed Francis had a respiratory tract infection, was running a mild fever and was in “fair” condition at Gemelli where he was undergoing drug therapy.

Francis has complained of breathing trouble and was diagnosed with bronchitis Feb. 6, but had continued to hold daily audiences in his Vatican hotel suite. He had presided at an outdoor Mass on Sunday and attended his general audience Wednesday. But he has been handing 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 appeared to indicate that the medication he was taking to help treat the lung infection was making him retain water.

Christopher Lamb, CNN’s Vatican correspondent, saw Francis at the beginning of an audience Friday with CNN head Mark Thompson, and said the pope was mentally alert but struggling to speak for extended periods due to breathing difficulties.

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 is being treated 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 Gemelli to receive intravenous antibiotics for a respiratory infection.

He later revealed that he had been rushed to the hospital March 29, 2023 after spiking a high fever and feeling a sharp pain in his chest. He said he was diagnosed with what he said was “an acute and strong pneumonia, in the lower part of the lungs.”