Pope Francis has pneumonia in both lungs and remains hospitalized in Rome after a respiratory tract infection, painting a “complex image” of his health, said the Vatican on Tuesday.
A computerized monitoring tomography of the Pontiff, 88, revealed the appearance of bilateral pneumonia, which the Vatican said it requires additional medications.
“However, Pope Francis remains in a good mood,” said his press office in a statement.
The Vatican announced Monday that Francis was sick with a polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract, three days after he was admitted to the Agostino Gemelli polycy, one of the largest hospitals in Italy, for the treatment of bronchitis. Preliminary tests showed that it had a respiratory tract infection and a slight fever.
The tests in recent days paint a “complex clinical picture,” said the Vatican on Monday, and will have to remain in the hospital for an appropriate amount of time.
The Vatican said on Tuesday that the Pope’s polymicrobial infection has “emerged in the context of bronchiectasis and asthmatic bronchitis, and has required the use of corticosteroids and antibiotics”, which “makes the therapeutic treatment more complex.”
Polymicrobial diseases are caused by combinations of viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites, according to the National Library of Medicine.
The Vatican had canceled his audience while recovering. The Vatican said he received the Eucharist on Tuesday and alternated between rest, prayer and reading.
“He expresses his gratitude for the support he feels at this time and kindly asks him to continue prayers,” said his press office.
Francis has sustained with repeated health problems in recent years, even influenza and respiratory infections. In 2021, he underwent surgery to address diverticulitis, or painful inflammation in the intestine, and again in 2023 to repair a hernia.
Last month, he had a sling on his arm after falling into his residence, weeks after hitting his face in a fall.
Francis, the leader of the almost 1.4 billion Catholics in the world since 2013, often uses a wheelchair due to back and knee pain.
A Catholic celebration of one year known as Jubilee is expected to be held every 25 years, bring millions more visitors to Rome this year, testing the Pope’s resistance.
In “Hope”, published an autobiography last month, minimized his health problems, writing that he feels good despite falls and ailments.
“The reality is simply that I am old,” he writes.
