Pope Francis has “an infection of the respiratory tract” and doctors have started to treat him with “a pharmacological therapy” at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome, the Vatican stated in a communique sent to accredited media around six o’clock local time, Feb. 14.
It said he underwent “specialist examinations” after being admitted to the hospital earlier today “following the worsening of the bronchitis [that he has had] in recent days.” It described his “clinical condition as stable” (in Italian, “discrete”) and said he has a “slight fever.” A doctor consulted by America said that the word “discrete” means “good” in this case and that the fact that he has a slight fever indicates no cause for concern.
“The pope is serene and in good spirits, and has read some newspapers,” Mr. Matteo Bruni, the director of the Vatican press office, told the media after the communique was released.
The Vatican is expected to issue the next communique tomorrow, probably in the morning, though it has not given any time for this.
Pope Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital this morning for treatment for the bronchitis that he has had for more than a week and for the necessary “diagnostic tests,” the Vatican announced just before 11:00 a.m. The 88-year-old pontiff was driven to the hospital after holding the four private audiences that were scheduled for today.
Hours later the Vatican subsequently announced the cancellation of three big events at which the pope had been scheduled to participate: the Jubilee audience for Saturday, Feb.15; the Jubilee Mass for Artists on Sunday, February 16 and the first ever-visit by a pope to Rome’s famous Cinecittà where many well-known films were made. This suggests that he will be in the hospital for several days.
The news of his hospitalization had been anticipated by some in the Vatican. “I am not at all surprised,” one Vatican official told me, expressing relief that this had happened. Another said his medical team had wanted him to go to hospital more than a week ago, but Francis refused to follow their advice. Instead, hoping to overcome the bronchitis without having to go to the hospital and without taking some days’ rest as would have seemed advisable, he continued to hold the many private audiences that had been scheduled for the week. He made one concession only: to avoid having to go out in the very cold and humid air, he decided to hold his private audiences at the Santa Marta Vatican guesthouse where he lives rather than in the papal library of the Apostolic Palace.
His current struggle with bronchitis was well known to the public at large. Last Sunday, Feb. 9, for example, he was unable to read the full text of his homily at the Jubilee Mass for the Armed Forces, Police and Security Services in St. Peter’s Square; he read the first few paragraphs and then said he could not continue because he had “difficulty in breathing.” Nevertheless, he read all the prayers at the 90-minute-long celebration in the open air, and also the Angelus message at the end of the Mass.
Likewise, at Wednesday’s public audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall, he was unable to read his catechesis and apologized for this because, he said, he was suffering from bronchitis. But in this case again he read all the prayers and delivered an off-the-cuff appeal at the end of the audience asking people to pray for peace and an end to the wars that are being fought today in the Middle East, Ukraine, Sudan, and Myanmar.
The four private audiences Francis held today before going to the hospital were with the Filipino cardinal Luis Antonio “Chito” Tagle, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for the Evangelization of Peoples; Mr. Roberto Fico, the Prime Minister of Slovakia and his delegation; Sir Mark Thompson, the president and CEO of CNN; and members of the “Gaudium et Spes” Foundation.
Christopher Lamb, the Vatican correspondent for CNN, who saw Francis at the beginning of the audience with CNN’s chief Mark Thompson, said the pope “was mentally alert but struggled to speak for extended periods due to breathing difficulties.”
After the four audiences, Pope Francis was driven to the Gemelli Hospital, about 20 minutes from the Vatican, and is now resting in the private suite on the tenth floor that is reserved for the popes, where he has been hospitalized three times before.
He was last here for three days in June 2023, when he underwent an abdominal surgery.
His second hospitalization was on March 29, 2023, when he was taken by ambulance to the Gemelli, also for bronchitis, where he received intravenous antibiotics. He spent four days in the hospital but returned in surprisingly good form and was able to preside at all the Holy Week ceremonies.
He was first hospitalized at the Gemelli on July 4, 2021, when he spent 10 days there after undergoing a three-hour surgery, which included a left hemicolectomy. The procedure involves the removal of the descending part of the colon, a surgery that can be recommended to treat diverticulitis.
In addition to the bronchitis, Francis continues to have mobility problems due to issues with his right knee, but seems to be better now than he was six months ago and is able to walk short distances with the help of a cane with a tripod base. The rest of the time, he moves around in a wheelchair, and has often joked that “one governs the church from the head, not from the legs.”
Update 2/14/2025 1:46 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with the latest statements from the Vatican.
