DILI, 15 February 2025 (TATOLI) – Pope Francis has been hospitalized at Rome’s Agostino Gemelli Hospital after being diagnosed with bronchitis last week.
The Holy Father was hospitalized on Friday for diagnostic tests and treatment of an ongoing case of bronchitis, the Vatican reported.
In a statement on Friday evening, the Holy See Press Office said “Following the worsening of his bronchitis in recent days, Pope Francis has undergone tests and has begun pharmacological treatment in hospital for a respiratory tract infection.”
“Initial tests indicate a respiratory tract infection. His clinical condition is stable, with a slight fever,” the statement reads.
The Vatican announced that due to Pope Francis’ hospitalization, he will no longer hold a jubilee audience at the Vatican on Saturday, 15 February.
“The Jubilee Audience scheduled for tomorrow, February 15, has been cancelled. The Holy Mass for the Jubilee of Artists and the World of Culture, set to take place on Sunday, February 16, will be presided over by His Eminence Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education”.
The Holy Father has been suffering from bronchitis for several days, as he has noted during a couple of public audiences, said the Vatican.
Catholic leaders and Catholic faithful in Timor-Leste united in prayer for Pope Francis after he was admitted to the hospital.
Pope Francis visited Timor-Leste in September 2024, becoming the first pope to visit the country since John Paul II in 1989.
The visit was a significant moment for the country, which gained independence from Indonesia in 2002.
The peak of Pope Francis’s historic visit to Timor-Leste was the celebration of Holy Mass in Tasi Tolu, attended by an estimated 600,000 faithful—almost half of the Timorese population.
TATOLI
