Pope Francis, hospitalised for bronchitis four days ago, faces a “complex clinical picture”, the Vatican said on Monday, indicating that the 88-year-old’s stay will be longer than initially believed.
After initially cancelling events through till Monday, the Vatican said the pope’s weekly Wednesday audience would not go ahead either.
“The results of the tests carried out in recent days and today have demonstrated a polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract that has led to a further change in treatment,” the Vatican said in a statement.
“All the tests carried out until now are indicative of a complex clinical picture that will require adequate hospitalisation.”
A Vatican source told AFP the pope was receiving oxygen.
A separate source in the pope’s entourage had earlier insisted there was “no alarmism” following his Friday admission to Rome’s Gemelli hospital.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told reporters as the new health update was published Monday that he was in “good humour”.
But the developments will raise fresh concerns about the Argentine pontiff, who has suffered increasing health issues in recent years.
Before his admission, after his usual Friday morning meetings, Francis had admitted to difficulty breathing and had asked aides several times to read his speeches aloud on his behalf.
At his weekly general audience last Wednesday, he said he “cannot yet” read his own speeches, adding with a smile: “I hope that next time I can.”
A source within the pope’s entourage told AFP on Monday that Francis was admitted after a “very busy” two weeks, during which “he was weakened”. AFP
