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A Vatican official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information was not a formal statement from the Holy See, said there will be an update on Francis’ hospital stay later on Friday.

The 86-year-old pontiff was transferred to Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic on Wednesday after returning to his Vatican residence after his usual weekly public audience in St. Peter’s Square.

The Vatican said he had experienced shortness of breath in the previous days.

A spokesman, citing hospital medical staff, provided the precise diagnosis on Thursday night, saying that Francis has bronchitis, contracted through an infection, and that antibiotic treatment resulted in a “marked” improvement in his health.

The hospital admission occurred four days before Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week.

Due to a chronic knee problem, Francis had already stopped celebrating Mass on major Catholic Church holidays, but continued to preside at ceremonies and deliver homilies.

The Vatican has not said when Francis will be released from the hospital.

But in a statement late on Thursday, he said that depending on how Francisco’s recovery goes, “he could be released in the coming days.”

It is not clear whether Francis, even when he returns to the Vatican, will be able to preside over or attend Holy Week celebrations.

They include a late-night Via Crucis procession punctuated by Good Friday prayers at the Colosseum in Rome and the Easter Mass on April 9, which is traditionally followed by a lengthy papal address delivered from the central balcony of the Basilica of Saint Peter.

During Wednesday’s hour-long public hearing, Francis at times appeared visibly in pain as he moved and was assisted by aides.