Vatican: Pope Francis set to leave hospital Saturday
ROME – Pope Francis is expected to be discharged on Saturday from the Rome hospital where he is being treated for bronchitis as his recovery proceeds in a “normal” way.
The pope had pizza for dinner and will be in St. Peter’s Square for Palm Sunday Mass, the Vatican said.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni gave the update in a statement Friday. In a subsequent statement, Bruni said that Francis was due to be in the square for the Mass, which marks the start of Holy Week and ushers in a series of solemn public ceremonies that culminate on Easter on April 9.
Francis, 86, was hospitalized on Wednesday at Gemelli Polyclinic, where doctors said the pontiff was receiving antibiotics intravenously to treat his bronchitis.
“Yesterday went well, with a normal clinical recovery,” Bruni said. “In the evening (of Thursday), Pope Francis had dinner, eating a pizza, together with all those who are assisting him in these days of the hospital stay,” the spokesman said, including doctors, nurses, assistants and Vatican security personnel.
On Friday morning, the pope read newspapers and resumed his work after breakfast.
The pontiff’s return to the Vatican hotel where he lives “is expected for tomorrow, as a result of the last tests of this morning,” Bruni said.
The spokesman added that, given that Francis would return to the Vatican on Saturday, he was expected to be present in the square for Palm Sunday Mass. He didn’t indicate whether Francis would deliver a homily during the ceremony, a particularly long service, or if someone else might read it for him.
Medical staff decided to hospitalize him on Wednesday after he returned to his Vatican residence following his customary weekly public audience in St. Peter’s Square. The Vatican reported he had experienced difficulty breathing in the previous days.
Bruni on Thursday evening said that antibiotic treatment for bronchitis had resulted in a “marked” improvement in his health.
In a video released by the Vatican, Francis is seen baptizing a hospitalized baby who is a few weeks old. After being told the boy’s name, “Miguel Angel,” the pope uses a metal hospital tray usually employed to hold syringes to pour water over the sleeping baby’s head, then tries to comfort the infant, who wakes up, wailing and seeming to swat away the pope’s hand.
Francis was smiling and looked chipper as he visited children being treated at Gemelli for cancer and gave out large, wrapped chocolate Easter eggs.
Earlier in the day, Francis sent a tweet on Friday possibly inspired by his current health challenge.
“When experienced with faith, the trials and difficulties of life serve to purify our hearts, making them humbler and thus more and more open to God,” Francis wrote. The tweet carried a hashtag for Lent.
Nearly immediately after the announcement of a discharge date for Francis, the Vatican announced that the pope would meet the prime minister of Bosnia-herzegovina on Monday.