Pope Francisco was admitted on Friday morning to the Agostino Gemelli hospital for necessary diagnostic tests and to continue treatment for bronchitis, as reported by the Vatican.
Francis did not cancel his agenda for the day and met, for example, with the President of Slovakia, Roberto Fico, but after his meetings, he was admitted to the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic.
In recent days, Francis had maintained his schedule but received visitors at his residence, Casa Santa Marta, and not at the pontifical palace, to protect himself from bronchitis.
On Wednesday, he explained that he still had bronchitis and, although he began reading the catechesis for the general audience, he preferred not to continue and asked a collaborator to continue reading.
Francis, 88 years old, had to interrupt the homily of the Mass for the Jubilee of the Armed Forces in St. Peter's Square last Sunday due to "breathing difficulties," as he himself declared.
In the past, the Argentine pontiff has experienced flu and respiratory problems that even led him to be hospitalized for three days in March 2023 at Gemelli Hospital in Rome.
In November 2023, on medical advice, he canceled his trip to Dubai for COP28, as he was also suffering from "acute and infectious bronchitis" at that time, and he also had to stop his activities in December 2023 due to bronchitis and in January of the following year due to the flu.
At the end of February 2024, he went to the Gemelli Polyclinic on Tiber Island for a follow-up CT scan of his lungs.
In June 2023, the Argentine pontiff had to be hospitalized again for an operation for an abdominal hernia in which some adhesions were removed and a mesh was placed on the abdominal wall, staying in the hospital for nine days.
While in July 2021, Francis was hospitalized for symptomatic diverticular stenosis of the colon and remained in the hospital for ten days