Papa Francisco He thanked the signs of affection that he has received and the care of the doctors and nurses of the Gemelli Hospital in Rome, where he is admitted by an respiratory tract infection that prevented him from pronouncing this Sunday the prayer of the Angelus, although he published it in writing .
“I still need treatment for my bronchitis”, Write the Supreme Pontiff, who appreciates “for the affection, prayer and the closeness with those who are accompanying me these days, as I want to thank the doctors and the health personnel of this hospital for their care: they do a valuable work and very exhausting”.
The Vatican spread the text prepared by the Pope for the Angelus after the celebration of the Mass of the Jubileo de la Cultura, in which Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça read Francisco’s homily, who could not preside over the Mass by being hospitalized from the last Friday.
Therefore, in the Angelus, the Pope wanted to remember the jubilee “dedicated especially to the artists who have come from various parts of the world” and thanked the preparation of the event to the Dicastery for Culture and Education, whose prefect is Cardinal Tolentino.
He Culture Jubilee “It reminds us of the importance of art as a universal language that spreads beauty and unites peoples, contributing to bring harmony to the world and to silence all war cry,” says the Pope.
“I want to greet all the artists who have participated: I would have liked to be with you, but as you know, I find myself here at the Gemelli Polyclinic because I still need some treatment for my bronchitis,” adds the pontiff, who has spent his second night admitted to recover from persistent bronchitis.
Francisco did not forget to renew his lLammamiento to peace and invited everyone to “continue praying for peace in the martyred Ukraine, in Palestine, in Israel and throughout the Middle East, in Myanmar, in Kivu and in Sudan.”
In addition to this Sunday’s Mass, the Pope also had to cancel his planned visit on Monday to the mythical film studios in Cinecitta, one of the most outstanding moments the jubilee of culture, which these days gathers more than more than more than 10,000 artists from a hundred countries.
This Saturday, in a statement, the Holy See explained that “to facilitate its recovery, the medical staff has prescribed absolute rest, so the Holy Father will not direct the prayer of the Angelus.”
The Vatican said that “the tests carried out during the day confirmed the infection of the respiratory tract”, that “the therapy was modified slightly on the basis of new microbiological findings” and that “today’s laboratory exams found the improvement of some values “
Francisco suffers A persistent bronchitis that in recent days he had impossible for him to read some speeches and that he finally forced to hospitalize him to submit to diagnostic exams and continue the treatment.
At the beginning of February the Pope explained that he suffered a “strong cold”, as he said at the general audience of Wednesday, February 5 and in the following days he maintained his audiences, but in his residence, the Santa Marta house, not to move To the Pontifical Palace “due to bronchitis,” said the Holy See.
This is the fourth time that the Pope has to be hospitalized in the Gemelli. In the past, the Argentine pontiff has suffered flu and respiratory problems that even forced him to be admitted three days in March 2023 and in November 2023 these respiratory problems forced him to cancel his trip to Dubai for COP28