The Vatican Makes a Statement About Pope Francis’s Health

The Vatican has shared new information about Pope Francis’s health.

In a statement made by the Vatican, Pope Francis has been admitted into the hospital with a respiratory infection. The hospitalization comes just hours after the pontiff attended his weekly public service, which takes place at St. Peter’s square every Wednesday morning.

The Vatican Makes a Statement About Pope Francis’s Health

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As the Vatican continued, they asserted that Pope Francis will remain hospitalized and under the care of doctors for “a few days of appropriate hospital medical therapy.”

“Pope Francis is touched by the many messages received and expresses his gratitude for the closeness and prayer,” the statement revealed, according to the BBC.

Francis is surrounded by his closest staff and his security detail.

It remains unclear how this hospitalization will affect the many services and masses he has coming up with the Easter season beginning this Sunday, April 2.

As the BBC reports, the pontiff was noted to be in “good spirits” while leading the public service this morning. However, onlookers noticed a “grimace” when he was helped into his vehicle following the conclusion of the service.

This is not the first health issue the Pope has faced in recent months. Pope Francis has been using a wheelchair to aid to his mobility due to a problem with his knee.

And in 2021, he underwent surgery on his colon, CNN reports. 

Francis has made statements in the past that he may follow the path of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who was the first Pope in centuries to step down as the leader of the Catholic Church due to his failing health.