VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis' condition improved during his first 24 hours in Rome's Gemelli hospital with tests confirming he has a respiratory tract infection and his doctors ordering complete rest, the Vatican said.
Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, told reporters the morning of Feb. 15 that the 88-year-old pope had slept well his first night in the hospital, he had breakfast and read some newspapers in the morning.
How long the pope will remain at Gemelli depends on how he reacts to treatment, he said.
The official bulletin released by the Vatican late Feb. 15 confirmed that the pope no longer had a fever.
After more tests, the bulletin said, his "therapy was slightly modified based on further microbiological findings. Today's laboratory tests found improvement in some values."
Pope Francis received the Eucharist in the morning and spent the day alternating "rest with prayer and reading," it said.
"To facilitate his recovery, the medical staff prescribed absolute rest," the Vatican said. In accordance with the doctor's orders, the pope will not lead the Angelus prayer Feb. 16 from his hospital room but will send the text he had prepared for publication.
The Vatican also said Pope Francis thanked people for their messages of concern and affection and asked people to continue praying for him.
The pope was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with a respiratory tract infection and mild fever around midday Feb. 14 after more than a week with bronchitis and obvious difficulty breathing.
The 88-year-old Pope Francis was in "fair" condition by the evening and was receiving drug therapy, the Vatican press office said.
The statement added that pope was admitted to the hospital "as a result of the exacerbation of bronchitis in recent days."
Italian newspapers and news agencies reported that before agreeing to go to the hospital, the pope had been receiving treatment intravenously at home without success. The medication, the media reported, was cortisone-based, which accounted for the noticeable puffiness in the pope's face over the previous week.
The Vatican press office had announced the morning of Feb. 14 that the pope, after holding his regularly scheduled morning meetings, would be "admitted to the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic for some necessary diagnostic tests and to continue, in a hospital setting, treatment for bronchitis that is still ongoing."
