Due to a fresh bout of bronchitis, Pope Francis has decided to move his official meetings to his residence for the rest of the week.

“Due to a bronchitis that has affected him in recent days,” reads a communiqué from the Vatican press office, “and in order to continue his activity, on the days of Friday, February 7 and Saturday, February 8, Pope Francis’s audiences will be held in the Casa Santa Marta,” i.e., the Vatican guesthouse where Pope Francis opted to reside after his election in 2013 instead of the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace.

Usually, the formal audiences and meetings with groups, individuals and heads of state are carried out in the library of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.

The pope has often cancelled official appointments due to a cold or a fever, but this marks the first time he has moved his meetings to his residence.

Pope Francis is particularly susceptible to respiratory conditions such as bronchitis and pneumonia, having had part of one lung removed as a young Jesuit due to a strong bout of pneumonia that left him hospitalized.

At 88, the pontiff maintains a full schedule and heavy workload. There were eight different meetings on Thursday’s schedule.

Francis’s voice has been raspy in speeches throughout the week.

He suffers from various maladies, including chronic sciatica and a knee problem that often confines him to a wheelchair or the use of a cane, in addition to his respiratory difficulties.

Francis has suffered from bronchitis with increased frequency in recent years and was hospitalized for the condition in March 2023, which forced him to cancel a planned trip to Dubai for the COP28 UN climate summit in December of that year.

To manage the issue, he has taken to having aides read his prepared speeches when he is breathless but feels capable of continuing with his regular schedule.

During his weekly Wednesday general audience he told attendees that he was suffering from a “severe cold” and asked an aide to real his prepared catechesis remarks.

Francis sounded winded while delivering Spanish-language remarks at Wednesday’s audience, but he also gave the final greeting to Italian pilgrims at the end of the event and called for prayer for those living in war.

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