By Christopher Lamb, Antonia Mortensen and Rob Picheta

Vatican City (CNN) — Pope Francis, who was admitted to a hospital in Rome for bronchitis, is in “fair” condition with a “respiratory tract infection,” the Vatican said Friday in what is the latest in a string of ailments that have raised concerns about the 88-year-old pontiff’s health.

Earlier on Friday, the Vatican said Pope Francis was admitted to Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome. He was there “for some necessary diagnostic tests and to continue in a hospital setting treatment for bronchitis that is still ongoing,” the Vatican said. They later confirmed he was in the facility, and that he had canceled his meetings for the next three days.

Francis has made a number of visits to the hospital in recent years, and received abdominal surgery in 2023. He has been struggling with bronchitis in recent weeks and has asked aides to read speeches and addresses.

But he held audiences at the Vatican on Friday morning before his hospitalization, including with the prime minister of Slovakia and with Mark Thompson, the Chief Executive of CNN. Christopher Lamb, CNN’s Vatican Correspondent, who saw Francis at the beginning of that meeting, said the pope was mentally alert but struggling to speak for extended periods due to breathing difficulties.

The latest diagnosis of bronchitis will cause particular worries for the Roman Catholic Church, because Francis has suffered from lung-related issues for much of his life. As a young man, the Argentinian leader suffered from severe pneumonia and had part of one lung removed.

Francis became pope in 2013, the first pontiff from South America. More recently he has been seen with a walking stick and sometimes uses a wheelchair. Last month, he suffered a fall and injured his arm.

Francis also suffers from diverticulitis, a common condition that can cause the inflammation or infection of the colon. In 2021, he had surgery to remove part of his colon.

Despite his medical issues Francis has kept up a busy calendar of events, including a 12-day visit of four countries in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific. That trip was one of the longest any pope has embarked on and marked the furthest geographical distance (about 20,000 miles) that Francis has traveled since being chosen as the leader of the Catholic Church.

Last week, it was announced that the pope would meet King Charles III in April.

The-CNN-Wire
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