Vatican: Despite the infection, Pope Francis has a good night in the hospital, it is unclear whether he will take part in Holy Week in the Vatican

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has had a good first night in hospital after being admitted with a respiratory infection, a Vatican official said Thursday.

More medical updates were expected later in the day. Francis was rushed to Rome’s Gemelli hospital for tests on Wednesday afternoon after suffering from breathing difficulties for the past few days.

The 86-year-old pope, who had part of a lung removed as a young man, does not have COVID-19 but will remain in hospital for several days for treatment, the Vatican said. His audiences were canceled until Friday.

Francis is scheduled to celebrate Palm Sunday this weekend and it was not clear how his health condition would affect the Vatican’s observance of Holy Week, which includes Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil and finally Easter Sunday on April 9.

His hospitalization was the first since Francis had 33 centimeters (13 inches) removed of his colon in July 2021 and spent 10 days at Gemelli Hospital.

He said shortly after the operation that he had made a full recovery and was able to eat normally. But in a Jan. 24 interview with The Associated Press, Francis said his diverticulosis, or bulge in the intestinal wall, had “returned.”

Before he was hospitalized on Wednesday, the pope had arrived at his regular general audience in relatively good shape, although he grimaced as he got in and out of the “popemobile.”

Francis has been using a wheelchair for over a year due to sprained ligaments in his right knee and a minor fracture in his knee, although he has been walking more with a cane lately.

Francis has said he resisted surgery for knee problems because he didn’t respond well to general anesthesia during the 2021 bowel surgery.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.