Pope Francis, 86, hospitalized in Rome on Wednesday, suffers from a respiratory infection and will remain hospitalized “a few days”, announced in a press release the director of the press service of the Holy See, Matteo Bruni.
The examinations “have revealed a respiratory infection (excluding Covid 19 infection) which will require a few days of medical treatment in the hospital”, he specified.
The Argentinian Jesuit, who marked his 10 years of pontificate in mid-March, participated in the morning at the weekly general audience in Saint Peter’s Square like every Wednesday, during which he appeared smiling, greeting the faithful on board his “papamobile”.
François, who has been in a wheelchair since May 2022 due to chronic knee pain, had already been hospitalized for 10 days at Gemelli Hospital in July 2021 for a major colon operation.
Jorge Bergoglio explained that he had “following-effects” of the anesthesia suffered during this intervention, which led him to rule out the possibility of knee surgery so far.
His knee pain, which notably prompted him to cancel several appointments in 2022 and to postpone a trip to Africa, is at the heart of speculation around a possible resignation.
He always left the door open to this scenario, like his predecessor Benedict XVI, who had resigned, taking the whole world by surprise.