Doctor expects Pope to get better in the next few days

A doctor who has spent decades treating respiratory infections in the elderly believes the Pope's health situation is serious.

However, Carmelo D’Asero, who is not a member of Francis's medical team, said that the new antibiotic therapy could start to work within three to four days.

While the Pope’s fever subsided, D’Asero warned this could indicate a weakened immune response, something that could be a cause for more concern than a high fever.

Francis once again had a peaceful night, ate breakfast and read the newspapers Tuesday morning, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. A more detailed medical update was expected later.

On Monday, Francis resumed doing some work and made his daily call to a Gaza City parish to check in on the Catholic community there.

The Vatican on Tuesday canceled papal audiences through the weekend and delegated others to cover for Pope Francis as the 88-year-old pope remained hospitalized with a multi-pronged respiratory infection.

The cancellations put a damper on upcoming events of the Vatican’s big Holy Year, the once-every-quarter-century celebration of Catholicism that is aimed at encouraging pilgrims to come to Rome to participate in special Jubilee activities.

Expected to draw some 30 million people to Rome, the Holy Year is packed with special papal audiences and Masses throughout 2025, some of which have now been put into question given Francis’ illness.

Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital in a “fair” condition on Friday after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened.

On Monday, medical personnel determined that he was suffering from a polymicrobial respiratory tract infection, a mix of viruses, bacteria and possibly other organisms had colonized in his respiratory tract.

The Vatican has given no indication of how long he might remain hospitalized, only saying that the treatment of such a “complex clinical picture” would require an “adequate” stay.