Pope Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Friday to undergo testing and treatment for bronchitis, the Vatican said.

The 88-year-old Pope was hospitalized in the late morning on Feb. 14, following meetings with a number of people, including the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico.

“This morning, at the end of his audiences, Pope Francis will be admitted to the Agostino Gemelli Hospital for some necessary diagnostic tests and to continue treatment for bronchitis, that is still ongoing, in a hospital setting,” the Holy See Press Office said in a message sent shortly before 11:00 a.m.

Pope Francis has been sick with bronchitis for over a week. On Feb. 6, the Vatican announced the Pope would hold most of his meetings that day and the following days in rooms at his Vatican residence in order to rest more. 

Catholics across the globe have been keeping the Holy Father in prayer. The faithful also pray for him in the petitions in the Liturgy of the Hours, at the beginning and end of the Rosary, and in various other spontaneous supplications made to the One whom he serves as earthly vicar.  

The ancient prayer for the Pope, sung regularly in the Vatican in Latin and found in prayer books and hymnals everywhere, is paraphrased from Psalm 41:3: 

“May the Lord preserve him, give him a long life, make him blessed upon the earth, and not hand him over to the power of his enemies.” 

Despite the illness, which has largely prevented the pontiff from reading his own speeches and homilies, Francis presided at a jubilee Mass for members of the police and armed forces in St. Peter’s Square on Feb. 9 and participated in his weekly general audience on Wednesday.

Pope Francis was also hospitalized for a respiratory infection in March 2023, and canceled a November 2023 trip to Dubai due to a “very acute infectious bronchitis.” 

The Pope, who has been suffering from visible breathlessness during recent meetings, has more and more frequently declined to read his prepared remarks to audiences or opted to have the remarks read by a priest aide.

He has faced several health challenges in recent years, including knee problems requiring a wheelchair, respiratory infections, and a fall resulting in a forearm contusion.

Msgr. Roger Landry also contributed to this updated CNA article.