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Vatican cancels pope's weekend engagements as he battles 'complex' infection
Voice of America
Reporters stand in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, in Rome, Feb. 18, 2025, where Pope Francis has been hospitalized to undergo some necessary diagnostic tests and to continue his ongoing treatment for bronchitis.
Pope Francis, who began his fifth day in hospital on Tuesday for what doctors have described as a "complex" respiratory infection, will not take part in this weekend's Holy Year events, the Vatican said on Tuesday.
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Candles with the pictures of Pope Francis are seen outside Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, Feb. 19, 2025, where the pontiff has been hospitalized since Feb. 14. FILE - Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrives at The Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on Feb. 17, 2025. A group of children from a primary school pray for Pope Francis in front of the statue Pope John Paul II outside Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, Feb. 19, 2025. Faithful pray for Pope Francis' health during a Mass in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Feb. 18, 2025.
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A Chinese coast guard ship moves through seas within the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone on Jan. 13, 2025. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP) FILE - A Philippine navy helicopter takes off after a military exercise on Nov. 6, 2024, off Loaita island, locally called Kota island, in the disputed South China Sea, Philippines.