Italian Media: ‘Pope’ Francis taken to Hospital for possible Heart Attack, Breathing Problems (Developing)

Meetings canceled for next two days…

Italian Media: ‘Pope’ Francis taken to Hospital for possible Heart Attack, Breathing Problems… Developing…

BERGOGLIO HEALTH UPDATES for April 1, 2023 (last updated 01:24 pm EDT):

• Pope Francis returns home after brief hospital stay (Vatican News)
• Pope Francis returns to the Vatican after 3 days in the hospital (Catholic World Report)

BERGOGLIO HEALTH UPDATES for March 31, 2023:

• The Pope’s Mysterious Hospitalisation (Edward Pentin)
• Pope Set To Leave Hospital After Three-Day Stay For Bronchitis (OSV News)
• Pope feeling better, visits young patients and baptises baby in hospital (Vatican News)
• The pope’s health, a highly sensitive topic at the Vatican (La Croix International)
• Vatican: Pope Francis had pizza dinner, may leave hospital tomorrow (Catholic News Agency)
• Pope Francis to be discharged on Saturday and had pizza dinner with doctors and nurses (Rome Reports)

BERGOGLIO HEALTH UPDATES for March 30, 2023:

• What to know about Pope Francis’ health (Rome Reports)
• Vatican: Pope Francis treated for bronchitis and seeing ‘a marked improvement’ in health (America)
• Pope getting better, could be discharged from hospital in coming days (Vatican News)
• Video: Pope Francis diagnosed with bronchitis, expected to be discharged from hospital soon (Rome Reports)
• Second Press Statement by Matteo Bruni, spokesman for Holy See Press Office (Mar. 30)
• Francis’ Medical Team (Catholic Conclave)
• First Press Statement by Matteo Bruni, spokesman for Holy See Press Office (Mar. 30)
• Vatican says Pope Francis improving, was back at work after breakfast (Crux)
• Pope Francis’ health improving (Vatican News)
• Update: Pope Francis rested well, continuing treatment in hospital, Vatican says (Catholic News Agency)
• Update on Pope’s health (Catholic Conclave)
• Timeline of Francis’ medical issues in recent years (Catholic News Agency)

ORIGINAL REPORT last updated 29-MAR-2023 20:15 UTC (4:15 pm EDT):

Italian media are reporting that ‘Pope’ Francis (Jorge Bergoglio) has been taken to Rome’s Gemelli hospital, and the Vatican has confirmed as much. Whereas, however, the Vatican claimed at first that he is at the hospital simply for previously-scheduled checkups, this is credibly contradicted by media reports.

Indeed, according to the Italian Corriere della Sera, Francis suffered from chest pains and respiratory problems after this morning’s general audience and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. An interview for the television program A Sua Immagine that Francis was going to have in the afternoon, had to be canceled.

The Italian Il Fatto Quotidiano confirms this:

Pope Francis was taken by ambulance to the Gemelli hospital in Rome and the audiences scheduled for the next two days were cancelled. This morning, Bergoglio regularly held the usual Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square. Immediately afterwards he returned to his residence, Casa Santa Marta, but suddenly canceled the interview he was supposed to record for the A Sua Immagine program with the presenter Lorena Bianchett.

(Francesco Grana, “Papa Francesco ricoverato al Gemelli per un affaticamento respiratorio: arrivato in ambulanza, annullate le udienze”, Il Fatto Quotidiano, Mar. 29, 2023; translation by Joan Lewis.)

The well-informed pro-Francis Novus Ordo blog Il Sismografo claims to know the following details:

The Holy Father’s health, after numerous initial examinations of various kinds, as well as some visits by specialists, is under control after a heart attack that could be the immediate cause of the respiratory failure that struck Francis after lunch. By now it is certain that the Pontiff will spend the night in the rooms that at Gemelli Hospital since the time of St. John Paul II are permanently set up to receive the Pope and the Vatican people who assist him. He has not been admitted to a cardio-respiratory unit, and in all likelihood he will face further, more thorough examinations tomorrow. For now, the most important thing is constant monitoring of his heart rate and blood oxygenation.

Of course in this situation the doctors will have recommended to the Holy Father much rest.

Meanwhile, a statement from the Vatican Press Office is awaited.

(“Vaticano Papa Francesco ricoverato negli appartamenti papali del Policlinico Gemelli. Forse una crisi cardiaca superata”, Il Sismografo, Mar. 29, 2023; translation via DeepL.)

Here is some of the English-language news coverage, beginning with the latest:

• BREAKING: Pope Francis hospitalized with a respiratory infection, Vatican says (Catholic News Agency)
• Facing respiratory infection, Pope to be hospitalized for a ‘few days’ (Crux)
• Pope Francis in hospital with respiratory infection (BBC)
• Vatican: Pope to be hospitalized for days for lung infection (Associated Press)
• Pope Francis To Spend Few Days In Hospital For Respiratory Infection; News Orgs On Alert Amid Developing Story (Deadline)
• BREAKING: Pope Francis hospitalized after reported ‘heart problems’ (Life Site)
• Update: Pope Francis will remain in hospital for several days with respiratory infection (America)
• Pope Francis hospitalized, appointments cancelled (La Croix International)
• Pope Francis in hospital, events cancelled (France 24)
• Pope Francis in hospital ‘with heart problems’ (The Telegraph)
• Pope Francis in hospital for check-up, has agenda cleared, source says (Reuters)

Rome Reports put together the following initial news clip:

ABC News has an update:

We will keep our readers posted on any major new developments concerning this matter.

Image source: Shutterstock (giulio napolitano)
License: paid