Pope Francis spent third peaceful night in hospital, says ANSA

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis, who is being treated for a respiratory infection, had a peaceful night, Italian news agency ANSA reported on Monday, citing sources close to the hospital.

The pontiff, 88, has been suffering from bronchitis for more than a week and was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Friday morning.

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The Vatican said on Saturday that the Pope would remain in hospital for as long as his treatment required.

Francis is not expected to be discharged until the middle of the week, according to ANSA

The Pope was unable to deliver his regular prayer to pilgrims in St Peter’s Square on Sunday, or to lead a special mass for artists to mark the Catholic Church’s jubilee year.

He has also cancelled a visit to Rome’s Cinecitta film studios, scheduled for Monday.

“Thank you for the affection, prayer and closeness with which you accompany me in these days,” Pope Francis wrote on X on Sunday.

Earlier, on Saturday, the pope’s treatment was “slightly modified based on further microbiological findings”, said a statement by the Vatican, adding that Sunday’s laboratory tests showed an improvement in some values.

Francis “did not show any fever” during the day on Saturday. Vatican also said the pope had received Communion, a central part of Catholic worship, and had then “alternated his rest between prayer and reading”.

The Vatican has said the pope would remain in hospital as long as necessary for his treatment. “We will see how he reacts to treatment,” said Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican’s press office. “I don’t have a precise date (for his release).”

Gemelli hospital, Rome’s largest, has a special suite for treating popes, and is known especially for often treating the late Pope John Paul II during his long papacy.

Francis, who has been pontiff since 2013, has had influenza and other health problems several times over the past two years. He spent nine days at Gemelli in June 2023, when he had surgery to repair an abdominal hernia.

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As a young adult he developed a case of pleurisy and had part of one of his lungs removed, and in recent times he has been prone to lung infections.

Francis has been suffering with respiratory issues since mid-December. He begged off reading statements at several of his public events in January and February, attending the occasions but asking aides to read his prepared remarks.