Pope Francis will not be participating in papal audiences through the weekend as well as a Mass for deacons scheduled for Sunday, the Vatican announced on Tuesday, citing the pontiff’s ongoing health issues.
The pope, who was admitted to a hospital in Rome on Friday, had rested well, eaten breakfast and had read some newspapers “as he usually does,” Matteo Bruni, a Vatican spokesman, told reporters at a news briefing at the Vatican.
A series of tests at the hospital, the Policlinico A. Gemelli, had indicated that Francis had a “complex clinical picture,” the Vatican said on Monday.
Doctors changed his drug therapy accordingly, and on Monday evening, the Vatican said that his condition was “stable” and that he did not have a fever.
The Vatican said that Francis had a “polymicrobial respiratory tract infection.” That means that the pope has a mix of microbes, like a virus or bacteria, infecting his lungs or another part of his respiratory tract.
The Vatican had said earlier that the pope would not be attending events for deacons, scheduled for this weekend, including a papal audience on Saturday but later said that an audience with the deacons had not been scheduled. Francis delegated a Vatican prelate to participate in a Mass for him on Sunday. Last week, Francis was unable to attend another scheduled event, for artists, at the Vatican.
This is the fourth time Francis has stayed at the Gemelli hospital. In 2021, he had colon surgery there. He was admitted for a respiratory infection in 2023 but went home after three days. He was hospitalized again a few months later to undergo abdominal surgery for a hernia.
Last February, he underwent diagnostic tests at the Gemelli hospital after a slight flu. As a young man he had the upper lobe of his right lung removed, and he is prone to bouts of influenza and bronchitis during the cold winter months. His medical challenges have increased in recent years. Because of knee problems and sciatica nerve pains, he often uses a wheelchair, walker or cane.
Francis’ engagements have increased since the start of the 2025 Jubilee — a year of faith, penance and forgiveness of sins that takes place every quarter-century — which opened on Christmas Eve.
Millions are expected to make a pilgrimage to the Vatican this year, and Jubilee events for different groups are scheduled over the next 10 months.
A medical update is expected Tuesday evening.
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