The state of the pope is “stable” and it is “affected by affection messages,” said the Vatican in an update in the middle of his stay in the hospital.
Earlier on Monday, the Vatican said that Pope Francis’s respiratory tract infection presents a “complex clinical image” and that he will have to stay in the hospital. The concerns have increased about 88 -year -old increasingly fragile health.
Matteo Bruni spokesperson said the results of the tests carried out in recent days indicate that the pontiff suffers from a “infection of the polymicrobial respiratory tract” which required an additional change in his medication.
Polymicrobial infections are caused by a mixture of viruses, bacteria, mushrooms and parasites.
In a subsequent update on Monday, the Vatican said that his clinical conditions were stable and that he “read and worked” Monday morning, adding “he is touched by the many messages of affection and proximity that he continues to receive at these hours “.
“In particular, he intends to thank those who are currently hospitalized, for the affection and love they express through drawings and good wishes; he prays for them and asks him to pray for him.”
It was not specified earlier if the Pope suffered from a bacterial or viral infection.
There was no time granted for the hospitalization of the Pope, but the spokesperson added the complexity of his symptoms “will require an appropriate hospital stay”.
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“ I hope he is well ”: people react to Pope Francis
The Pope was Admitted to the Gemelli Hospital in Rome Friday, in a “fair” condition to be treated for an infection of the airways.
His doctors advised complete rest. He was Impossible to deliver your regular weekly prayer Sunday in pilgrims in Saint-Pierre or en masse a special mass for artists to mark the year of the jubilee of the Catholic church.
On social networks on weekends, the Pope wrote: “Thank you for the affection, the prayer and the proximity with which you accompany me these days.”
The pope had suffered from bronchitis for more than a week before being transported to hospital.
He would have insisted to finish his morning audience Friday before leaving the Vatican to be admitted to the hospital.
The Pope was increasingly having trouble completing speeches and commitments last week because he was breathtaking.
The Pope is treated at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome. Pic: AP
‘The pope looks a little tired’
However, from his hospital bed this weekend, the Pope continued to make telephone calls to members of a Catholic parish GazaReported the Italian radio broadcaster Mediaset.
A member of the parish said that the Pope had called on Friday and Saturday and was in “good humor” but looked “a little tired”.
On Wednesday, the Pope’s next planned appointment is its general weekly audience.
He must then preside over the ordination of deacons on Sunday as part of a weekend of the holy year.
The two commitments remain in the Vatican official calendar, but seem to be in doubt.
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The pontiff is treated in the largest hospital in Rome in a suite designed for the popes.
The Argentinian pope had been part of a lung withdrawn after a pulmonary infection as a young man.
When he had a bad case of pneumonia in 2023, he left the hospital after three days – he later said that he had been admitted after feeling weak and had great pain in the chest.
The same year, Pope Francis spent nine days at Gemelli hospital when he underwent surgery for an abdominal hernia.
Age makes it more difficult for the Pope to beat infections
As we get older, our ability to fight infections or diseases that would not have troubled us before gradually decreases.
Pope Francis is 88 years old and unlike many people who have had the chance to live so long, has a demanding job that probably leaves less time for the rest of our bodies, especially aging, need.
The last Vatican update suggests that it is not seriously ill – capable of sitting and having breakfast – but that his doctors have concluded the bronchitis he suffers will require a more hospital stay long.
Bronchitis – inflammation of the main respiratory tract leading to the lungs – can be serious because it can shrink these pipes leading to the difficulty of breathing.
It is only a real concern if the infection does not respond well to the treatment and spreads more deeply in the lungs themselves causing pneumonia.
The Vatican said that the pope’s infection is “polymicrobial” meaning more than one type of microbe (bacteria, viruses or fungal agent) has been identified.
This means adjusting the types of drugs used to treat infection, which, in some cases, can be delicate, especially if one of the bugs is resistant to current antimicrobial drugs – something more and more common.
The Pope may be more vulnerable to pulmonary infections than an equivalent age because he had been part of a lung removed following a severe infection when he was only 21 years old.
He has already been hospitalized in 2023 with pneumonia and recovered.
Beyond that, it is reckless for anyone to handle the personal health of anyone, especially pontiffs.