ROM: Pope Francis was admitted on Friday for medical tests and treatment of bronchitis and marked the latest health concern for the 88-year-old leader of the Catholic Church.

Francis, who has been breathless in recent days and has delegated officials to read his speeches, held his morning meetings as planned before heading for Roma’s Gemelli Hospital, the Vatican said.

He was admitted to the hospital for “some necessary diagnostic tests and to continue the treatment of ongoing bronchitis in the hospital’s surroundings,” it says.

Two target groups to be held by the Pope on Saturday and Monday were later canceled, while a cardinal will take the fair on Sunday in Francis.

“The initial tests indicate an airway infection,” the Vatican said in a further statement on Friday night, adding that his condition was “stable with a slight fever.”

“The pope is calm, he is in a good mood and has read newspapers,” the Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told journalists shortly after.

The Argentine Pontiff, who took over as leader of the Catholic Church in 2013, will live at Gemelli in a suite used exclusively by popes that have its own chapel.

A successor left a light that carries a picture of Pope Francis at the bottom of the statue of Pope John Paul II at the hospital entrance.

Italian media reported that the pontiff was admitted after not recovering from a disease week and said he might be in the hospital for several days.

The pope, who had part of one of his lungs removed as a young man, has asked helpers several times in recent days to read his speaking aloud on his behalf.

At his weekly general audience on Wednesday, Francis said he “can’t” read “his own speeches and added with a smile:” I hope the next time I can. ”

He also held meetings at home last week to help him recover.

On Friday morning, the Vatican confirmed that he had the audience with five visitors, including the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico.

DEFENING HEALTH WOES

The pontiff has been plagued by health issues in recent years, though he continues to maintain a very busy schedule.

He pulled out of a Good Friday event last year after caught what the Vatican called a “light flu,” but continued to lead Easter services as planned.

A year earlier, in March 2023, Francis was admitted to the hospital for three nights of bronchitis, which was healed with antibiotics.

Another seizure of bronchitis prompted him to cancel a visit to December 2023 to Dubai to participate in the United Nations COP28 climate conference.

The pope also underwent a broc operation in June 2023 and in 2021 underwent surgery for a type of diverticulitis, an inflammation of the pockets that develop in the lining of the gut.

He has been using a wheelchair since 2022 due to persistent knee pain and uses a sugar cane in rare moments that get up.

Francis has also fallen a few times in the last few months, bruises the forearm in January and sported a big bruise on his right jaw in December, caused by overturning from his bed.

Despite his health problems, Francis rarely rests.

In September 2024, he completed a four-nation Asia-Stockhavet tour, the longest of his papacy with regard to duration and distance.

He never takes a vacation and holds a busy schedule, sometimes with a dozen meetings in one morning.

His health issues regularly trigger speculation about his future, especially as his predecessor Benedict XVI ends over failure in 2013.

While Francis has left the opportunity to resign if he could not perform his tasks, he has said that he is going now now.

In a memoir published last year, the pope wrote that he “had no reason serious enough to make me think about resigning”.

Departure is a “distant option” that would only be justified in the event of “a serious physical obstacle,” he wrote.