ROME – Pope Francis, who has been admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital for treatment of bronchitis since Friday, has been diagnosed with pneumonia and is undergoing a renewed course of treatment.
In a Feb. 18 statement, the Vatican said that the pope’s laboratory tests, chest X-ray and general clinical conditions “continue to present a complex picture.”
After initially being admitted for treatment of bronchitis, the Vatican said Monday that he had been diagnosed with a polymicrobial respiratory infection, and that his course of treatment had shifted.
Tuesday’s statement said the infection arose “in the context of bronchiectasis and asthmatic bronchitis,” and required the use of antibiotic cortisone therapy, making the pope’s treatment plan “more complex.”
In addition, a check-up chest scan performed Tuesday afternoon, prescribed by both the Vatican’s own health team and the medical team attending to him at Gemelli Hospital, “demonstrated the onset of bilateral pneumonia that required further pharmacological therapy.”
However, regardless of his diagnosis, the Vatican said Pope Francis “is in good spirits,” and spent his day resting, praying and reading.
Francis also received the Eucharist and expressed gratitude for “the closeness he feels at this moment,” and asked, “with a grateful heart, that we continue to pray for him,” the Vatican said.
The 88-year-old pontiff has suffered increased respiratory infections and bouts of bronchitis in the past two years, having been hospitalized for the condition in March 2023. He also suffers from chronic sciatica and knee troubles that often force him to use a wheelchair or a cane.
He has suffered two falls in recent months, once in December resulting in a bruised chin, and once in January that caused an injury to his arm, requiring it to be placed in a sling for several days.
The pope’s current stay at Gemelli, where popes traditionally go for medical treatment, marks his fourth hospitalization there, following colon surgery in 2021, a stay for bronchitis in March 2023, and surgery to repair an abdominal hernia in June 2023.
In December 2023, he was forced to withdraw from a planned trip to Dubai for the COP28 climate summit.
Despite his current condition, the pope has regularly called the Catholic parish in Gaza throughout his hospital stay, making telephone calls to the pastor, Gabriel Romanelli, on Friday, Saturday, and Monday night, and sending a text message on Sunday.
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