The 88-year pontiff has been suffering from a respiratory infection for more than a week and was admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital on February 14.

Rome's Gemelli hospital, where Pope Francis is being treated for bronchitis, is the favoured choice of pontiffs -- to the point of being dubbed "Vatican III" by John Paul II. It is the fourth visit to the Gemelli since 2021 for the 88-year-old Francis,

The Vatican indicated that the pope was fighting a multiple-pronged infection requiring “adequate hospitalization.”