Pope Francis is being hospitalized to treat his bronchitis and undergo some necessary diagnostic tests, the Vatican said Friday in confirming the latest threat to the 88-year-old pontiff's health.

       Francis was diagnosed with bronchitis last Thursday, but he has continued to hold daily audiences in his Vatican hotel suite and preside over general audiences and even presided at an outdoor Mass last Sunday. He has, however, handed off his speeches for an aide to read aloud, saying he was having trouble breathing.

       Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has long battled health problems, especially long bouts of acute bronchitis in winter. He uses a wheelchair, walker or cane when moving around his apartment and recently fell twice, hurting his arm and chin.

       Ever since his diagnosis, Francis has appeared bloated, an indication the medication he was taking to treat the lung infection was making him retain water.

       Francis was being hospitalized at Rome's Gemelli hospital, where he was last hospitalized in June 2023 to have surgery to remove intestinal scar tissue and repair a hernia in the abdominal wall. A few months before that, he spent three days in the hospital to receive intravenous antibiotics for a respiratory infection.

       A Vatican statement said Francis would be admitted at the end of his Friday audiences. In addition to regular Vatican officials, the pope met Friday morning with the Slovak prime minister, Robert Fico and the head of CNN, Mark Thompson.

       "This morning, at the end of the audiences, Pope Francis will 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," the statement said.