Pope Francis has been admitted to hospital in Rome for tests and treatment for ongoing bronchitis, the Vatican announced.
The 88-year-old, who has been breathless in recent days after being diagnosed last Thursday and has delegated officials to read his speeches, was admitted following his morning audiences, it said.
‘This morning, at the end of his audiences, Pope Francis was admitted to the Policlinico Agostino Gemelli for some necessary diagnostic tests and to continue his treatment for bronchitis, which is still ongoing, in a hospital environment,’ a statement said.
The Pope, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has long battled health problems, especially long bouts of acute bronchitis in winter.
Earlier this month, Francis told pilgrims at a weekly audience that he was suffering from a ‘strong cold,’ which the Vatican later described as bronchitis.
Ever since his diagnosis, Francis has appeared bloated, an indication the medication he was taking to treat the lung infection was making him retain water.
As well as fragile health, Francis has had reduced mobility in recent years, and often uses a cane or a wheelchair to move due to knee and back pain.
He has been admitted to hospital on a number of occasions in recent years – undergoing surgery in 2021 to address a painful condition called diverticulitis and again in 2023 to repair a hernia.
Pope Francis is pictured earlier this week at the Vatican
Francis has continued his activities and audiences indoors at Casa Santa Marta in the days since his bronchitis diagnosis.
In addition to regular meetings with Vatican officials this morning, the pope met with the Slovak prime minister, Robert Fico, and the head of CNN, Mark Thompson.
The Argentine pontiff has led the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church since 2013.
He has often downplayed concerns about his health and has also ruled out resigning, as his predecessor Benedict XVI did, amid concerns that he cannot meet the physical and mental demands of the papacy.
Despite his age and health woes, Francis has remained very active in recent months, completing in September a four-nation trip — the longest of his papacy in terms of in duration and distance.
‘I am well,’ Pope Francis said in January. ‘The Church is governed using the head and the heart, not the legs.’
He said it was ’embarrassing at first to have to use a wheelchair, but old age never arrives by itself, and it must be accepted for what it is.’
The Pope reiterated that he does physiotherapy twice a week, uses a walking stick and does as many steps as he can as he continues to carry out his duties.
Last month the pontiff injured his right arm in a fall at his Santa Marta home, the Holy See said, adding that he did not suffer any fractures.
Pope Francis (pictured meeting with Belgian King Philippe and Queen Mathilde) often uses a cane or a wheelchair to move due to knee and back pain
The health update comes after the leader of the Catholic Church this week condemned the Trump administration’s mass deportation of migrants.
Francis addressed the migrant crackdown in a letter to US bishops, who themselves have criticized the expulsions as harming the most vulnerable.
He warned that the program to forcefully deport people purely because of their illegal status deprives them of their dignity and ‘will end badly.’
The Pope has repeatedly defended the rights of migrants during his 10 years in the Vatican, urging world leaders to be more welcoming to those fleeing poverty or violence.
Francis has also said governments are expected to do so to the limits of their capacity.
In the letter, Francis said nations have the right to defend themselves and keep their communities safe from criminals.
It is one thing to develop a policy to regulate migration legally, it is another to expel people purely on the basis of their illegal status, he wrote.
‘That said, the act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness,’ he wrote.
The Pope has also appealed for peace in Ukraine in his General Audience on Wednesday.
He mentioned ‘tormented Ukraine’, as he has repeatedly done since Russia invaded the country in 2022, stressing the suffering facing the country as it gears up for potential talks to end the three-year war.
