Pope Francis hospitalised after having breathing issues

Pope Francis spent the night in hospital in Rome, where he got treatment on Thursday for a respiratory infection.

ALSO READ: Pope Francis defends LGBTQ rights in Sudan

POPE FRANCIS ADMITTED TO HOSPITAL ON WEDNESDAY

A spokesman said that Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Wednesday for previously scheduled tests

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said that the tests showed a respiratory infection that was not Covid-19, requiring “a few days of appropriate hospital medical treatment.

ALSO READ: Pope Francis: messages that resonate with Africans

The hospitalisation is a few weeks after what marked a decade as head of the Catholic Church.

Bruni said that the he suffered from chronic knee pain that has required him to use a wheelchair. His postponement last year of a scheduled trip to Africa and various events at home fueled intense speculation about his health, and in a July 2022 interview he acknowledged that he needed to slow down.

ALSO READ: Pope Francis resignation rumours spark after postponed Africa trip

CANCELLED TRIP TO AFRICA SPARKED RESIGNING RUMOURS

As previously reported, Pope Francis has fuelled the rumour mill with a postponed Africa trip and the curious timing of an upcoming meeting of cardinals — but experts caution against assuming a resignation is nigh.

Hobbled by pain in his knee and forced to use a wheelchair in recent weeks, the 85-year-old pontiff postponed a July trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan last week.

ALSO READ: Newspaper front pages from around the world, 30 March 2023

In July 2021 he was admitted to the same hospital for 10 days for an operation on his colon after suffering from a type of diverticulitis, which is a type of inflammation of pockets that develops in the lining of the intestine.