‘Serene’ 2nd night for Pope in hospital

The Holy Father is receiving antibiotics, which are taking care of his respiratory infection.

Pope Francis’ second night in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital went “serenely,” a Vatican source said on March 31, 2023. Yesterday, the medical team following the 86-year-old Pontiff also gave a reassuring report.

In a statement released shortly after 8:00 p.m. by the Holy See Press Office, the medical staff confirmed the Pope is suffering from “infectious bronchitis” and that an antibiotic infusion treatment had “produced the expected results” and brought about a “marked improvement” in the Pontiff’s health. He could “leave the hospital in the next few days,” according to the report.

For his part, Matteo Bruni, director of the Press Office, added that the head of the Catholic Church had spent the afternoon in Gemelli, “devoting himself to rest, prayer and some work.”

Pope Francis was hospitalized on March 29. It is not yet known if the Pope will be able to celebrate Mass on Palm Sunday, as previously scheduled, and how many of the liturgies of Holy Week he will be able to lead.

This is the second hospitalization of the Argentinean Pope in his 10-year pontificate. In July 2021, he underwent colon surgery and was hospitalized for 10 days in this same hospital in northwest Rome.

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