By Bill Heaney
Update Friday 14.11
Pope Francis is expected to be discharged on Saturday after what will have been three nights of hospital treatment for bronchitis, and will attend Palm Sunday services, the Vatican said on Friday.
The 86-year-old has responded well to antibiotics and on Thursday evening shared a pizza with staff looking after him at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, spokesman Matteo Bruni said.
On Friday morning, he had breakfast, read some newspapers and did some work in the private papal suite on the hospital’s 10th floor where he was admitted on Wednesday after complaining of breathing problems.
‘His Holiness’s return home to Santa Marta (his Vatican home) is expected tomorrow, in the wake of the results of the latest tests this morning,’ Bruni said.
As a result, Pope Francis was expected to ‘be present’ in St Peter’s Square for the celebration of Palm Sunday, which marks the beginning of Holy Week.
The Catholic Herald had reported that Pope Francis had been admitted to hospital amid speculation that he suddenly complained of “heart problems”.
Matteo Bruni of the Vatican Press Office issued a one-line statement to say that the 86-year-old Argentine Pontiff went to the Gemelli Hospital in Rome “for some previously scheduled check-ups”.
Italian media reported, however, that the Holy Father was suffering from a heart complaint and was also experiencing “breathing difficulties”.
Francis’s health has been slowly but visibly deteriorating in recent years, not least because of knee problems which have left him dependent upon a wheelchair for long periods.
In the summer of 2021 he also underwent surgery on his colon, which triggered rumours that he was being treated for cancer.
The Pope has admitted drafting a letter of resignation in the event of illness making it impossible for him to discharging his duties.
He said in a recent interview, however, that he had no intention of relinquishing his office because he believed the Petrine ministry was for life.
Top picture: Pope Francis taking part in a previous Palm Sunday procession.