Pope Francis to leave hospital on Saturday, Vatican says
Rome, Mar 31 (EFE).- Pope Francis is expected to be discharged from a Rome hospital on Saturday after he was admitted with a respiratory condition, the Vatican said.
Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said on Friday that the Pope’s health was improving, and he did well on Thursday after a normal clinical course.
“Pope Francis had dinner, eating pizza, together with those assisting him during these days of hospitalization,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Bruni said the Pope had breakfast on Friday and read some newspapers in the morning before resuming his work.
“His Holiness is expected to return to Casa Santa Marta (his residence) tomorrow, following the results of this morning’s latest examinations.”
The pontiff, 86, was admitted to the Gemelli University Hospital in Rome on Wednesday afternoon.
The Vatican press office said he was suffering from a respiratory infection “that will require a few days of appropriate hospital medical treatment.”
Francis underwent a chest CT scan and other medical tests that showed he neither had Covid-19 nor pneumonia, said the press office.
His illness comes just three days ahead of Palm Sunday, which marks the beginning of Holy Week, and the Vatican has not yet confirmed whether the pontiff will be present.
The Pope was accompanied by his nurse Massimiliano Strappetti.
It is the second time Francis got admitted to the hospital, following colon surgery on July 4, 2021, which kept him hospitalized for ten days.
Since then, the Pope has suffered from an injury in his right knee that forces him to walk with a cane or in a wheelchair.EFE
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