Thursday March 30, 2023 | 10:15 a.m.
Pope Francis spent “a good night” at the Gemelli hospital in Rome, where he was admitted this Wednesday to treat a lung infection, and “progressively improves,” according to the Vatican.
“His Holiness Pope Francis rested well during the night. The clinical picture is progressively improving and the planned treatments continue,” the pope’s spokesman, Matteo Bruni, said in a statement. The pontiff had breakfast, read the newspapers and works from his room, they added.
“Before lunch he went to the small chapel in the private apartment, where he prayed and received the Eucharist,” the statement said.
In addition, in a tweet, the pope said he was “moved by the many messages” he received. “I thank everyone for their closeness and his prayer”, he closed.
The 86-year-old pope will continue to be hospitalized for “several days” to receive treatment, so they canceled their schedule until Friday. It is his first hospitalization since July 2021, when 33 centimeters of his colon were removed and he spent 10 days at the Gemelli hospital.
“The doctors are very optimistic and believe that the Pope will be able to celebrate Palm Sunday. Except, of course, some unforeseen event,” hospital sources told the Italian news agency Ansa.
Why was Pope Francis hospitalized?
The Argentine, who completed 10 years ago as head of the Catholic Church a few days ago, began to feel bad after the general audience on Wednesdays and suspended an interview with an Italian television program in the Regina Coeli Roman prison, for a series of respiratory difficulties for which he was finally taken to the Gemelli.
“In recent days, Pope Francis has complained of some respiratory difficulties and this afternoon he went to the A. Gemelli Polyclinic for medical check-ups. Its outcome revealed a respiratory infection (excluding Covid 19 infection) that will require a few days of appropriate hospital medical treatment,” said an official statement released by the Vatican.
The doctors subjected the Pope to a chest CT scan and other tests and examinations. The results were appraised with relief by the hospital staff.
What condition does Pope Francis have?
As reported by the journalist Sergio Rubin in TN, the Pope suffers from chronic asthmatic bronchitis with a derivation into a lung infection due to excess stress.
In 1957, at the age of 21, Francisco underwent removal of the upper lobe of his right lung due to a lung infection.
The papal spokesman, Matteo Bruni, confirmed Jorge Bergoglio’s health condition to Nelson Castro: “He has had some difficulty. The doctors’ conclusion is that he has had a respiratory infection. He does not have Covid and he will require a few days of hospital medical therapy ”.
It is not yet known what will happen to the Easter celebrations
At the moment there is no precision about the celebrations planned for Holy Week that begin on Thursday the 6th and that include the traditional Via Crucis at the Colosseum on Friday the 7th, the Télam agency indicated.
What is the “Room of the Popes” like in the Rome hospital where Francis is hospitalized?
The room “of the Popes” was created in the early 1980s. The first Pontiff to receive care there was John Paul II, known for his continuous health problems that worsened over the years.
The room consists of a small but cozy apartment located on the top floor of the right wing of the health center, which gives it greater privacy.
The room is a suite painted in white, very austere. There is only space for a bathroom, a bed, a TV and different instruments to control the patient’s vital signs, according to the Italian press. The room has a huge window that overlooks the main entrance.
In addition, there is a small living room with a sofa bed for the papal entourage.
But there is one more environment. There is a small chapel, with a prie-dieu and a large crucifix, to allow the Pontiff, if his health allows it, to pray or celebrate mass.
