After being admitted to the hospital Friday for treatment of what the Vatican initially described as bronchitis, Pope Francis is stable and has been prescribed complete rest while being treated for a respiratory infection.

He was described by a Vatican spokesman as being “serene” and “in good humor” Friday night after his admittance to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, spending the evening reading newspapers.

A statement Saturday morning said the pope had slept well during the night, and in the morning ate breakfast and read some newspapers while receiving treatment and awaiting the results of further tests.

On Saturday evening, the Vatican said Pope Francis, while admitted with a fever, no longer showed any signs of having a fever and that further testing during the day “confirmed a respiratory infection.”

His treatment, the Vatican said, was modified slightly “based on further microbiological findings.”

Laboratory exams Saturday showed “an improvement in some values,” the Vatican said, but did not offer further details.

The pope received the Eucharist Saturday morning and spent the day alternating between rest, praying and reading.

In order to facilitate a full recovery, doctors, the statement said, “have prescribed absolute rest,” meaning he will not give his scheduled Sunday, Feb. 16, Angelus address, however, the text of the speech will be distributed for publication.

Some of his events for this weekend’s Jubilee for Artists and the World of Culture have been cancelled due to the pope’s hospitalization, and his Sunday Mass for the event will now be celebrated by Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education.

Francis was also updated on the many well-wishes and expressions of prayer and solidarity that have been conveyed since he was admitted and has asked that faithful continue to pray for him.

The 88-year-old pontiff was admitted to the Gemelli Hospital Friday at the end of his regularly scheduled audiences that day, after around two weeks of struggling with a bronchitis that forced him to take his private audiences and meetings at his residence, rather than the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.

This marks the fourth time he has been admitted to Gemelli, where popes traditionally go for medical treatment, following colon surgery in 2021, a stay for bronchitis in April 2023, and surgery to repair an abdominal hernia in June 2023.

He has also suffered two falls in recent months, once in December resulting in a bruised chin, and once in January that caused an injury to his arm, requiring it to be placed in a sling for several days.

It is unclear how long the pope will remain in the hospital, but it is expected that he will stay for several days.

Source: Crux