On Friday morning, he held audiences at the Vatican before his hospitalization, including with the prime minister of Slovakia and with Mark Thompson, CNN's chief executive. During the meeting, the pope was mentally alert but struggling to speak for extended periods due to breathing difficulties,

The pope has been recovering at a Rome hospital for at least two nights. According to the Vatican, the pope is pulling back from some of his duties, including leading certain prayers.

Pope Francis has been ordered to get complete rest as he continues to recover in a hospital from bronchitis. NBC’s Meagan Fitzgerald reports for Sunday TODAY.

Pope Francis has been prescribed “complete rest” following his hospitalization for bronchitis on Friday. His latest medical woes have revived concerns over his health.

Francis was first admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital two weeks ago, after being plagued by a string of lung-related medical struggles, including bronchitis and then pneumonia.

Pope Francis remains hospitalized in Rome as doctors treat a worsening respiratory infection that the Vatican has described as a "complex clinical picture." The 88-year-old pontiff was admitted to Gemelli Hospital on Friday following a weeklong struggle with bronchitis that required additional medical intervention.

The 88-year-old pontiff was initially admitted to the hospital on Friday for bronchitis. On Monday, the Vatican said test results show Francis has "a polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract."

Pope Francis’ condition isn’t life-threatening, but he’s not out of danger, his medical team said Friday as the 88-year-old pontiff marked his first week in a hospital with pneumonia on top of chronic bronchitis.

Pope Francis' condition isn't life-threatening, but he's not out of danger, his medical team said Friday, as the 88-year-old pontiff marked his first week in a hospital with pneumonia on top of chronic bronchitis.

The Vatican says Pope Francis has developed pneumonia in both his lungs, after new tests showed a further complication in the condition of the 88-year-old pope

The Vatican, though, made alternative plans for Ash Wednesday next week, making clear Francis still had a long road ahead. Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, a Vatican official and former vicar of Rome, will preside over the March 5 ceremony and procession that inaugurates the church’s solemn Lenten season leading up to Easter in April.