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The Pope was admitted to hospital on Wednesday after having breathing difficulties.
However, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni says after having routine tests Pope Francis is expected to be in hospital for several days.
“Time has been allocated in the schedule to allow for the tests to continue for as long as necessary,” a Vatican source said.
The nature of the tests has initially not been disclosed by the Vatican.
According to Elisabetta Piqué, a journalist for the Argentine daily La Nacion and usually very well informed on the current pontificate, the pope was admitted to hospital after suffering a cardiac episode at the end of his midday weekly audience.
In the evening, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis has experienced “difficulties in breathing” in recent days.
The Holy See stated that doctors have detected a “respiratory infection” — not COVID-19 — that will require “a few days” of hospitalisation.
According to La Croix International’s sources the tests were not “scheduled.”
Francis had planned to visit a Roman prison on Wednesday to record a video segment for the RAI religious programme “A Sua Immagine.”
The appointment was cancelled at the last minute.
According to La Croix International, sources say Pope Francis had planned to meet with his “foreign minister,” Archbishop Paul Gallagher, on Wednesday afternoon, as he does every week and, on Wednesday morning, the appointment was still listed in the Pope’s schedule.
Earlier in the day, the Pope appeared for his weekly audience, riding his customary popemobile around St Peter’s Square before continuing his series of catecheses on evangelisation.
Holy Week
The Pope’s illness has raised questions about his overall health and his ability to celebrate the busy Holy Week events. He is scheduled to begin these by celebrating Palm Sunday Mass in St Peter’s Square on April 2.
The Vatican’s Holy Week observances begin next week with Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil and finally Easter Sunday on April 9.
So far the Vatican has not announced any changes to the Pope’s Holy Week plans.
Bruni says Francis is grateful for the prayers and messages wishing him a speedy recovery.
Pope’s health
Francis was admitted to hospital in July 2021 for a “scheduled” colon operation. His hospital stay was extended beyond the initially announced timeframe, with the Vatican stating that it was to “optimise medical care and rehabilitation.”
While the Vatican had presented the surgery as routine, the Pope acknowledged its seriousness a few months later, saying that the nurse who convinced him to seek treatment had “saved his life.”
Francis also suffers from severe knee pain, which has required him regularly to use a wheelchair since May 2022.
He now rarely moves without a cane to assist him, even for short distances, from his popemobile to his wheelchair.
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