Pope eating and reading after second night in hospital

Pope Francis read the newspapers and had breakfast on Sunday after a second night sleeping well at the hospital where the 88-year-old is being treated for a respiratory tract infection, the Vatican has said.

The Argentine pope, a known workaholic who keeps up a gruelling pace despite his many ailments, was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Friday after a week-long bout of bronchitis worsened.

It is his fourth hospital stay since his 2013 election and it has raised questions about his increasingly precarious health.

Doctors confirmed a respiratory tract infection and prescribed “absolute rest” alongside unspecified drug therapies. Francis skipped his traditional Sunday noon blessing, declining to even come to his hospital window to wave to a small crowd below that had gathered in the hope of cheering him on.

The Pope Francis social media account, which is not written by himself, posted on Sunday: “Thank you for the affection, prayer and closeness with which you are accompanying me in these days.”

Francis had part of one lung removed after a lung infection when he was a young man and is prone to respiratory infections. In 2023, he spent three days at Gemelli to be treated for what he later revealed was an acute case of pneumonia.

Despite his February 6 bronchitis diagnosis, Francis has kept up a frenetic pace of late, packing his days with private and public audiences while taking on the added obligations of steering the Catholic Church through its Holy Year.

The Vatican has cancelled his events until Monday at least.

On Sunday, a Holy Year Mass he was supposed to preside over for visiting artists was instead celebrated by the Vatican culture minister.

The Vatican has not specified what type of respiratory tract infection the Pope has. Sometimes bronchitis can lead to pneumonia, a deeper and far more serious infection of the lungs’ air sacs. Treatment varies by severity but can include providing oxygen through a nasal tube or mask, intravenous fluids – and treatment of the underlying cause of the infection.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said he expects to provide a further update later on Sunday, but substantially new detailed medical information may not be forthcoming given it is a Sunday.