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A marble statue of late Pope John Paul II is backdropped by the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, where Pope Francis was hospitalized Friday after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened and is receiving drug therapy for a respiratory tract infection. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
ROME – Pope Francis slept well during a quiet first night in the hospital after being admitted with a respiratory tract infection, and was up eating and reading Saturday, the Vatican said.
Francis, 88, ate breakfast Saturday morning and read the newspapers while continuing his drug therapy, spokesman Matteo Bruni said.
Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Friday after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened. It was his fourth hospitalization since his 2013 election and raised questions about his increasingly precarious health.
Preliminary tests showed he had a respiratory tract infection and a slight fever. The Vatican canceled his audiences through Monday at least.
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