Pope’s planned commitments in doubt as hospital treatment for continues

ROME — Pope Francis’ upcoming commitments appeared increasingly in question Monday as he spent a fourth day in the hospital with a respiratory tract infection that has already sidelined him longer than a 2023 hospitalization for pneumonia.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Francis, 88, ate breakfast and read the newspapers Monday morning and was continuing his unspecified drug therapies. A more detailed medical update was expected later in the day.

Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital in a “fair” condition on Friday after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened. Doctors confirmed a respiratory tract infection and prescribed “absolute rest” alongside unspecified drug therapies. Subsequent updates said his slight fever had gone away and that he was in “stable” condition.

The Argentine pope, who had part of one lung removed after a pulmonary infection as a young man, is a known workaholic who keeps up a grueling pace despite his increasingly precarious health.

There has been no word on how long his hospital stay might last.

When he had a bad case of pneumonia in 2023, he left after three days and only acknowledged after the fact that he had been admitted urgently after feeling faint and having a sharp pain in his chest. This time around, Francis insisted on finishing his morning audiences Friday before leaving the Vatican, even though he was having trouble speaking at length because he was short of breath.

The Holy See has only confirmed cancelled appointments through Monday. Francis was supposed to have gone to Rome’s Cinecitta film studios to meet with artists as part of the Catholic Church’s Holy Year celebrations.

While his private audiences are rarely announced with much advance notice, the pope’s next scheduled appointment is his weekly general audience Wednesday. Beyond that, he is scheduled to preside on Sunday at the ordination of deacons as part of a Holy Year weekend dedicated to deacons. Francis’ participation in both appears in doubt, but they remain on the official Vatican schedule.

When he missed the Jubilee Mass dedicated to artists this past Sunday, a cardinal stood in for him.

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