Pope has pneumonia in both lungs but remains in good spirits, the Vatican says

Pope Francis has developed pneumonia in both lungs, the Vatican said on Tuesday, after new tests showed a further complication in the condition of the 88-year-old pope.

The Vatican said Francis’s respiratory infection also involves asthmatic bronchitis, which required the use of cortisone antibiotic treatment.

“Laboratory tests, chest X-ray, and the Holy Father’s clinical condition continue to present a complex picture,” the Vatican said.

Nevertheless, the pope is in good spirits and is grateful for the prayers for his recovery, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in the latest update.

It follows an announcement earlier on Tuesday that the Vatican has cancelled papal audiences throughout the weekend and delegated others to cover for Pope Francis.

The cancellations put a dampener on forthcoming events of the Vatican’s big Holy Year, the once-every-quarter-century celebration of Catholicism which encourages pilgrims to go to Rome to take part in special jubilee activities.

Expected to draw some 30 million people to Rome, the Holy Year is packed with special papal audiences and Masses throughout 2025, some of which have now been thrown into question given Francis’ illness.

Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital in a “fair” condition on Friday after a week-long bout of bronchitis worsened.

On Monday, medical personnel said he was suffering from a polymicrobial respiratory tract infection, meaning a mix of viruses, bacteria and possibly other organisms had colonised in his respiratory tract.

The Vatican has given no indication of how long he might remain in hospital, only saying that the treatment of such a “complex clinical picture” would require an “adequate” stay.

Francis once again had a peaceful night, ate breakfast and read the newspapers on Tuesday morning, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. A more detailed medical update was expected later.

On Monday, Francis had resumed doing some work and made his daily call to a Gaza City parish to check in on the Catholic community there.

This Holy Year weekend was dedicated to deacons, the ministry that is a necessary step for men who are preparing to become priests.

Francis had an unrelated audience on Saturday and was supposed to have ordained the deacons during a Mass on Sunday.

The Vatican on Tuesday said the audience was cancelled and that the archbishop who is organising the jubilee would celebrate the Mass.

It is an arrangement similar to that which the Vatican announced last weekend, when artists had to settle for a cardinal presiding over their special Mass.

The next jubilee events on the calendar that would typically involve the pope are the March 8-9 weekend dedicated to volunteers.

Francis had part of one lung removed after a pulmonary infection as a young man and is prone to bouts of bronchitis in winter.

He has admitted in the past that he is a non-compliant patient, and even his close Vatican aides have said he pushed himself too far even once his bronchitis was diagnosed.

He refused to ease his busy schedule and ignored medical advice to stay indoors during Rome’s chilly winter, insisting on sitting through an outdoor jubilee Mass for the armed forces on February 9 even though he was having trouble breathing.

Francis’ hospital admission has this year has already sidelined him for longer than a 2023 admission for pneumonia.