Pope Francis arrives for the weekly general audience on March 8, 2023 at St. Peter's square in The Vatican. PHOTO/AFP

Pope Francis has been admitted to a hospital where he will stay for “some days” after being diagnosed with a respiratory infection, the Vatican reported Wednesday.

“In recent days Pope Francis has complained of some difficulty breathing and this afternoon went to [Gemelli Hospital] to carry out some medical tests,” Holy See Press Office Director Matteo Bruni said.

“The results of these tests showed a respiratory infection (a COVID-19 infection was excluded) that will require some days of opportune medical treatment in the hospital.”

Bruni added that the pontiff is touched by the many messages he received and expresses his gratitude for the closeness and prayer.

Bruni had issued a brief statement earlier in the afternoon of March 29 to say the pope was at Gemelli Hospital “for some previously scheduled checkups.”

Gemelli is the same hospital where Pope Francis was hospitalized in July 2021 when he underwent surgery on his colon for diverticulitis, or inflammation of the intestinal wall.

In an interview with the Associated Press in January, Pope Francis disclosed that the diverticulitis had “returned.”

At the time, the 86-year-old will who traveled to South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo in late January — insisted he was in relatively good condition.

The pope has also suffered since last year from a problem with his right knee, making it necessary for him to rely on a cane and a wheelchair to move around. But Francis told the AP that a fracture had healed without surgery after laser and magnet therapy.

This is a developing story.