Pope Francis is hospitalized for respiratory infection

He Pope Francisco has a respiratory infection and will need to spend “a few days” in the hospital for treatment, said the Vatican in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement said the 86-year-old pontiff had complained about breathing difficulties in the last days. He added that the tests showed that he did not have Covid-19.

“Pope Francis is moved by the many messages received and expresses his gratitude for the closeness and prayer,” the Holy See said.

The statement came hours after the pontiff was unexpectedly taken to hospital to get tested. The Vatican initially said the check was scheduled, but Italian media disputed this, saying a television interview with the pope scheduled for Wednesday afternoon had been canceled at the last minute.

Earlier in the day, Francisco attended his weekly general audience at the Vatican and appeared to be in good health.

The Pope suffers from diverticulitis, a condition that can infect or inflame the colon, and underwent surgery at the Gemelli hospital in 2021 to remove part of that organ.

The pontiff said in January that the condition had returned and was making him gain weight, but he was not overly concerned. He did not elaborate.

He also has a knee problem and alternates between using a cane and a wheelchair in his public appearances.

Francisco told Reuters in an interview last year that he preferred not to have knee surgery because he did not want a repeat of the long-term negative side effects of anesthesia he suffered after the 2021 operation.

Returning from a trip to Canada in July, Francis acknowledged that his advanced age and difficulty walking might have given way to a new, slower phase of his papacy. But since then, he has visited Kazakhstan and Bahrain and last month he took a grueling trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan.

He has also stated this year that he has no plans to resign any time soon and that if he did, it would be for serious health reasons, such as a severe disability.