Experienced Respiratory Infections, Pope Francis Is Being Treated In Hospital

Pope Francis. (Wikimedia Commons/Paris Orlando)

JAKARTA - Pope Francis, 86, has a respiratory tract infection and has to spend "a few days" in hospital undergoing treatment, the Vatican said in a statement on Wednesday, amid concerns over his health condition.

The Pope was taken to Gemelli hospital in Rome, Italy after complaining of difficulty breathing over the past few days. Test results showed he had an infection, but did not have COVID-19.

"The Pope Francis was touched by the many messages he received and thanked him for his closeness and prayers," the Vatican said.

The Vatican initially said the Pope went to hospital on Wednesday to undergo an examination. However, Italian media reported he arrived in an ambulance after canceling a television interview in the last minute.

Earlier, Pope Francis had attended a weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square in the morning and appeared in good health.

Pope Francis is sometimes short of breath and generally has more respiratory problems, after part of his lungs were removed in the early 20s while practicing to become an imam in his home country, Argentina.

The hospital treatment took place ahead of Palm Sunday service on April 2, marking the start of a busy ceremonial week ahead of Easter Sunday on April 9, raising doubts as to whether he would be able to lead activities as usual.

Pope Francis' health has attracted attention in the past two years, where he has undergone colon surgery and started using a wheelchair or stick due to chronic pain in one of his knees.

The leader of nearly 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide suffers from diverticularitis, a condition that can infect or inflame the colon, and is operated at Gemelli hospital in 2021 to remove part of his colon.

Later, in an interview last year, Pope Francis told Reuters he chose not to undergo surgery on his problematic knee, because he did not want to repeat the long-term negative side effects of the anesthesia he suffered after surgery in 2021.

He said in January his condition had recovered and caused him to gain weight, but he was not too worried.

Last July, upon his return from a trip to Canada, Pope Francis acknowledged that his aging age and difficulty in walking may have led him to a new phase of his slower papality.

But since then he has visited Kazakhstan and Bahrain and traveled last month to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.

He has also committed to visiting Hungary in late April, Portugal in August and Marseille City in France in September. He said, whenever possible, he wanted to fly from Marseille to Mongolia.

It is known, after praising the historic decision of his late predecessor Benedict XVI to resign for health reasons in 2013, Pope Francis indicated that he would follow the example only if he was truly unable.

Asked by Italian Swiss television RSI in an interview broadcast on March 12 about what conditions would make it stop, he said, "A fatigue that doesn't allow you to see everything clearly. Lack of clarity, don't know how to evaluate the situation".