Pope Francis said he breathed and rest well after the diagnosis of bilateral pneumonia

Rome – The Vatican said on Wednesday that Pope Francis had spent a peaceful night in a hospital in Rome – his fifth after he was admitted with an attack of bronchitis developed into pneumonia in both lungs. The bilateral pneumonia diagnosis of Tuesday would be a worrying turn for every 88-year-old, but it is mainly concerned for the leader of the Catholic Church, which has long suffered from breathing problems.

Pope Franciscus rested well, woke up and ate breakfast on Wednesday morning, the Vatican said. A source at the institution said that the pope did not suffer heart problems and breathed himself without the help of a mask. They said he was sometimes upright in an armchair, and it became clear that he is under strict orders from his medical team to rest.

No visitors can see the pope, but close assistants have brought him documents to assess and sign.

Another source told CBS News that Francis had made a number of phone calls and that he also received notes from benefactors.

People gathered outside the Gemelli hospital in Rome to also show their support, with many messages and notes near a statue of former Pope John Paul II. The Vatican also shared a selection of photos on Wednesday with some of the drawings and notes of support that children treated in Gemelli’s Pediatric Oncology unit have sent to the Pope.

The pope has always held a very busy schedule and he seemed out of breath in some of his public events earlier this month, before he was admitted to the hospital on Friday for what the first was diagnosed as bronchitis.

The new diagnosis confirmed on Tuesday, of pneumonia in both lungs, came a day after the Vatican said that the Pontiff had a polymicrobial infection of the airways and that test results “were indicative of a complex clinical image that will require an adequate hospital stay. “

The Vatican said on Tuesday that the pneumonia would require extra drug therapy. The disease was discovered after Francis had undergone a CT scan of his chest on Tuesday afternoon, the Vatican said.

The Vatican has said that Francis is grateful for the “proximity he feels at the moment” of his supporters, and that he asked people to pray for him.

This is the fourth hospital admission of the Pope since he took over the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church in 2013. He underwent considerably abdominal surgery In 2021 and then had another procedure in 2023 to repair scar tissue and a belly hernia. He was briefly admitted to hospital for pneumonia treatment Earlier that year.

As a young man in his home country Argentina, Francis had removed part of one lung after a lung infection, making him vulnerable to breathing diseases.

The Vatican has canceled an audience that Francis would have on Saturday and announced that he would not celebrate Sunday mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.

The constant hospitalization of the Pope comes just over two weeks before the start of the annual Christian compliance with Lent. The 40-day Lenten period starts on Ash Wednesday, which falls on 5 March this year.

Just before Easter last year, Francis refused to attend a good Friday procession in the Colosseum of Rome in an attempt to keep his health, but the pope later led tens of thousands of worshipers in Easter celebrations.