ROME — Pope Francis, who has spent the last two nights in hospital, apologized for missing a mass at the Vatican on Sunday, saying that he was still being treated for bronchitis and thanking his doctors for looking after him.
Francis, 88, was admitted to a Rome hospital on Friday with a respiratory tract infection. His doctors have ordered him to rest and he was unable to deliver his regular Sunday prayer to pilgrims in St Peter’s Square.
“I would have liked to be among you but, as you know, I am here at the Gemelli Hospital because I still need some treatment for my bronchitis,” Francis said in a short written version of the prayer.
“Thank you for the affection, prayer and closeness with which you are accompanying me in these days, and I would like to thank the doctors and healthcare workers in this hospital for their care,” he added.
The cardinal who led mass on Sunday in the absence of Francis opened the service with a message of support.
“Our first thought goes to Pope Francis. We pray for his health, offering thanks for the vision and support that he always gives us,” Cardinal Jose Tolentino de Mendonca said during the mass in St Peter’s Basilica.
The mass was dedicated to honoring artists in the Catholic Church’s Holy Year.
The Vatican has said the pope would remain in hospital as long as necessary for his treatment.
Francis, who has been pontiff since 2013, has had influenza and other health problems several times over the past two years.
A Vatican statement released late on Saturday said that the pope had been “prescribed complete rest” in order to help his recovery.
The pope’s treatment on Saturday was “slightly modified based on further microbiological findings”, the statement said. “Today’s laboratory tests showed an improvement in some values,” it added.
Italian media reported on Sunday that the pope had a second peaceful night in hospital on Saturday.
Francis spent nine days at Gemelli in June 2023, when he had surgery to repair an abdominal hernia.
Outside the hospital on Saturday, groups of people were gathering under a famous statue of John Paul II to pray for Francis.
“We found out yesterday morning, with sadness,” said Giovanni Di Muro, an Italian who was visiting his son in hospital. “We hope it’s nothing serious, and that everything will be fine.”
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 a case of pleurisy and had part of one of his lungs removed, and in recent times he has been prone to lung infections.
Francis has been suffering from respiratory issues since mid-December. He begged off reading statements at several of his public events in January and February, attending the occasions but asking aides to read his prepared remarks.
