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- Pope Francis apologized for missing a Vatican mass due to bronchitis treatment.
- He remains hospitalized in Rome, with doctors prescribing complete rest for recovery.
- Cardinal Jose Tolentino de Mendonca led mass, expressing prayers for the pope's health.
ROME — Pope Francis, who has spent the last two nights in the hospital, apologized for missing a mass at the Vatican on Sunday, saying that he was still being treated for bronchitis and thanking his doctors for looking after him.
Francis, 88, was admitted to a Rome hospital on Friday with a respiratory tract infection. His doctors have ordered him to rest and he was unable to deliver his regular Sunday prayer to pilgrims in St Peter's Square.
"I would have liked to be among you but, as you know, I am here at the Gemelli Hospital because I still need some treatment for my bronchitis," Francis said in a short written version of the prayer.
"Thank you for the affection, prayer and closeness with which you are accompanying me in these days, and I would like to thank the doctors and health care workers in this hospital for their care," he added.
His spokesman told reporters at the Vatican that Francis had slept well, eaten breakfast and read some newspapers and that his treatment was continuing on Sunday.
The cardinal who led mass on Sunday in the absence of Francis opened the service with a message of support.
"Our first thought goes to Pope Francis. We pray for his health, offering thanks for the vision and support that he always gives us," Cardinal Jose Tolentino de Mendonca said during the mass in St Peter's Basilica.
The mass was dedicated to honoring artists in the Catholic Church's Holy Year.
The cardinal's message was echoed by well-wishers at the Vatican.
Colombian pilgrim Patricia Afanador said she was disappointed not to see the pope but his health was the main concern.
"(It's sad), but it is more important that he gets better," she said. "We carry him in our heart."
The Vatican has said the pope would remain in hospital as long as necessary for his treatment.
Francis, who has been pontiff since 2013, has had influenza and other health problems several times over the past two years. As a young adult, he developed a case of pleurisy and had part of one of his lungs removed, and in recent times he has been prone to lung infections.
A Vatican statement released late on Saturday said that the pope had been "prescribed complete rest" in order to help his recovery.
The pope's treatment had been "slightly modified based on further microbiological findings", the Saturday statement said, adding that "laboratory tests showed an improvement in some values."
Contributing: Yesim Dikmen and Keith Weir
