The Holy See announced on the afternoon of March 29 that Pope Francis has been experiencing "respiratory difficulties in recent days and this afternoon he went to the Gemelli University Hospital to undergo some medical tests.
A few hours earlier, the Sala Stampa itself had reported the Pontiff's admission to the hospital, although at first, they pointed to "scheduled check-ups".
As for the results of the check-ups that have been carried out on the Pope, the Sala Stampa explains that the Pope is suffering from a respiratory infection that will require "several days of appropriate hospital medical treatment" so Pope Francis will continue at the Gemelli for the next few hours (the length of his admission has not been specified) and his schedule has already been cleared. The Vatican has specifically clarified that this respiratory infection is not Covid19.
The Vatican communiqué also expressed the Pope's gratitude for the closeness and prayers shown through the messages of encouragement he has received from various parts of the world.
Pope Francis' health
The last time we saw a long Pope Francis' entry at the Gemelli hospital was in July 2021. At that time he underwent surgery for a "symptomatic diverticular stenosis of the colon", an operation for which he remained in the hospital for several days.
A year later, rumors returned about the Pope's health due to severe pains in his right kneeThe knee problem, still present, forced him to use, for the first time, a wheelchair, an aid he has been using from time to time since May 2022. It was this knee problem that forced the pope to postpone his trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan of Sur until February of this year.
