VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis, who is spending his fifth day in hospital for what doctors described as a “complex” respiratory infection, will not take part in this weekend’s Holy Year events, the Vatican said on Tuesday.
The 88-year-old pontiff has been suffering from a respiratory infection for more than a week and was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14.
All public events on the pope’s calendar were cancelled through Sunday, the Vatican said in a brief statement.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Francis had slept peacefully overnight and had eaten breakfast on Tuesday. A further update on the pope’s condition was expected later on Tuesday.
A Vatican official speaking on background to discuss the pope’s condition without authorisation said the pontiff was not on a ventilator and was breathing on his own.
The pope had been due to lead several events over the weekend for the 2025 Catholic Holy Year, which runs through to next January.
It is a special time of pardon and forgiveness for Catholics and the Vatican expects 32 million tourists to visit Rome throughout the year, including for a range of special audiences with Francis.
The Vatican said on Monday that doctors had changed the pope’s drug therapy for the second time during his hospital stay to tackle a “complex clinical situation”. They described it as a “polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract”.
Doctors say a polymicrobial infection occurs when two or more micro-organisms are involved, and can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or fungi.
Francis, who has been pontiff since 2013, has had influenza and other health problems several times over the past two years. As a young adult he developed pleurisy and had part of one lung removed, and in recent times he has been prone to lung infections.
The Vatican has said Francis will stay in hospital for as long as necessary. It has not specified whether the pope is suffering from a bacterial or viral infection.
While a bacterial infection can be treated with antibiotics, viral infections cannot. Viruses usually have to run their course, but the patient can be assisted with other medicines to bring down a fever or help their body fight the infection.
(Editing by Crispian Balmer, Alvise Armellini and Janet Lawrence)
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