Pope Francis Still Undergoing Hospital Treatment, His Condition Is Stable

Pope Francis/DOK via Instagram @franciscus

JAKARTA - Pope Francis, who was taken to hospital on Friday for bronchitis treatment, is suffering from respiratory tract infection but is in stable condition.

"The Holy Father has undergone specialist examinations and started drug therapy in hospitals," a Vatican statement issued about eight hours after the Pope was taken to Gemelli hospital in Rome.

"Initial tests show respiratory tract infections," he said.

The clinical condition is good, but Pope Francis has a little fever.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the Pope was calm and excited, and had read several newspapers.

The Pope has suffered from bronchitis for more than a week.

The Vatican said previously the Pope would miss several planned public events over the next three days as he is recovering at the hospital.

Pope Francis, who has served as Pope since 2013, has suffered several times from influenza and other health problems in the last two years.

As a young man, he had an inflammation of his chest membrane and one of his lungs had been removed, and recently he was susceptible to lung infection.

Earlier this month, Pope Francis told pilgrims at a weekly audience he suffered a "severe flu", which the Vatican later described as bronchitis.

The Pope held several meetings on Friday before going to the hospital. One of them is with Mark Thompson, CEO of CNN.

The Pope was mentally alert but had difficulty speaking for a long time due to difficulty breathing, CNN reported

The Pope also held a meeting with Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, senior Vatican official Cardinal Luis Tagle, and with the Puerto Rico-based Catholic philanthropic group.

The video of the Pope's meeting with Fico shows Pope Francis sitting at the table at his residence in the Vatican, smiling, and speaking gently.