The day after his hospitalization in Rome for a respiratory infection, Pope Francis is better. After having passed “a good night”, the sovereign pontiff benefits from “antibiotic treatment by infusion which produced the expected effects”, indicated the medical staff in a press release transmitted by the Vatican, specifying that he could leave the hospital. hospital “in the next few days”.
The 86-year-old suffers from “infectious bronchitis” and is responding well to his treatment which has led to a “marked improvement” in his condition, the medical team at Gemelli Hospital said on Thursday.
Reassuring news after this new alert for the head of the Catholic Church who, at 86, suffers from chronic health problems. The pope’s night was “quiet” and the staff following him are “very optimistic”, Italian news agency Ansa said, citing hospital sources. His state of health “is gradually improving and the planned treatments are continuing”, said Matteo Bruni, the spokesperson for the Holy See.
Rather reassuring news, while the contradictory information distilled on Wednesday by the Vatican had raised concerns about the real state of health of the Argentine pope. After mentioning “scheduled examinations”, the Vatican spokesman finally announced on Wednesday evening that he was suffering from a “respiratory infection”. “In recent days, Pope Francis has had difficulty breathing and […] he was admitted to the A. Gemelli Polyclinic for medical checks,” according to Matteo Bruni.
The 86-year-old Argentine pope is benefiting from “antibiotic infusion treatment which has produced the expected effects”, medical staff said in a statement sent by the Vatican, adding that he could be discharged from hospital “in the coming days “.
These analyzes “revealed a respiratory infection” unrelated to Covid-19 and the pope will have to undergo treatment in the hospital for “a few days”, he said. The pontiff should however be able to preside over Palm Sunday Mass at the Vatican, “unless unforeseen”, according to the hospital sources cited by Ansa. The pope’s agenda also includes celebrations for Holy Week and Easter, the highlight of the Catholic world, and he is expected in Budapest at the end of April.
This hospitalization took everyone by surprise, especially since, on Wednesday morning, Jorge Bergoglio had again participated, as every week, in the general audience in Saint Peter’s Square, during which he appeared smiling, greeting the faithful. of his “papamobile”. François, who has been in a wheelchair since May 2022 due to chronic knee pain, had already been hospitalized for ten days at Gemelli Hospital in July 2021 for a major colon operation.
François, for his part, blows hot and cold on this delicate subject. After having mentioned in July the possibility of “putting oneself aside”, he had judged in February that the resignation of a pope should “not become a fashion”, assuring that this hypothesis was “not on [his] agenda for the moment “.
The pope is constantly monitored by a team of caregivers, whether in the Vatican or during his trips abroad. A precaution all the more necessary since this octogenarian has a heavy medical history behind him: at 21, he almost died of pleurisy and suffered a partial ablation of one of his lungs.
