Vatican: Pope to be hospitalized for several days; had difficulty breathing

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican says Pope Francis will be hospitalized for several days for treatment of a pulmonary infection after experiencing difficulty breathing in recent days.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni says Francis, 86, does not have COVID-19, but requires several days of therapy.

He said Wednesday that Francis had been suffering some breathing trouble in recent days and went to the Gemelli hospital for tests.

“The tests showed a respiratory infection (COVID-19 infection excluded) that will require some days of medical therapy,” Bruni’s statement said.

<p>Pope Francis helped to get on his car at the end of weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 29, 2023. Pope Francis went to a Rome hospital on Wednesday for some previously scheduled tests, slipping out of the Vatican after his general audience and before the busy start of Holy Week this Sunday.</p>

Alessandra Tarantino – staff, AP

Pope Francis helped to get on his car at the end of weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 29, 2023. Pope Francis went to a Rome hospital on Wednesday for some previously scheduled tests, slipping out of the Vatican after his general audience and before the busy start of Holy Week this Sunday.

Pope Francis went to a Rome hospital on Wednesday and canceled his audiences for the next two days to undergo previously scheduled tests, the Vatican said.

The Vatican provided no details, including how long the 86-year-old pope would remain at Gemelli University Hospital, where he underwent surgery in 2021. But his audiences through Friday were canceled, raising questions about Francis’ participation during the Vatican’s Holy Week activities starting Sunday.

“The Holy Father has been at Gemelli since this afternoon for some previously scheduled checkups,” the Vatican said in a one-line statement from spokesman Matteo Bruni.

Francis appeared in relatively good form during his regularly scheduled general audience Wednesday, though he grimaced strongly while getting into and out of the “popemobile.”

<p>Pope Francis hugs a child at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 29, 2023.</p>

Alessandra Tarantino – staff, AP

Pope Francis hugs a child at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 29, 2023.

The purpose of the medical tests wasn’t immediately clear. Francis had part of one lung removed when he was a young man due to a respiratory infection, and he often speaks in a whisper.

He spent 10 days at the Gemelli hospital following the 2021 surgery for an intestinal narrowing, which included the removal of 33 centimeters (13 inches) of his colon.

Francis is due to celebrate Palm Sunday this weekend, kicking off the Vatican’s Holy Week observances: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil and finally Easter Sunday on April 9.

He has used a wheelchair for over a year due to strained ligaments in his right knee and a small knee fracture. He has said the injury was healing and been walking more with a cane of late.

Francis also has said he resisted having surgery for the knee problems because he didn’t respond well to general anesthesia during the 2021 intestinal surgery.

He said soon after the surgery that he had recovered fully and could eat normally. But in a Jan. 24 interview with The Associated Press, Francis said his diverticulosis, or bulges in the intestinal wall, had “returned.”

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