The cardinal who met the pope on Friday hospitalized with COVID-19

Two prominent Vatican cardinals, one of whom was seen speaking to Pope Francis on Friday, tested positive for COVID-19. One of them is in the hospital, fighting pneumonia.

Polish cardinal Konrad Krajewski, 57, a point of reference for the pope's charity in the city of Rome, went to the Vatican health center on Monday with symptoms of pneumonia. He was later transferred to the Gemelli hospital in Rome.

Italian cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, 78, president of the Vatican City governorate, also tested positive for coronavirus, according to Italian news.

The Vatican has announced that everyone who has been in contact with Krajewski in the past few days is being tested, but has not made it clear whether this includes Pope Francis. The two talked to each other during the final Advent meditation on December 18. Over the weekend, on behalf of the homeless in Rome, the Polish cardinal sent the pope's sunflowers for his birthday.

On the same day, he distributed face masks and basic medical supplies to the poorest in the city on behalf of the pope.

Krajewski - known in the Vatican as “Don Corrado” - is the papal mandate, an institution dating back at least 800 years ago that deals with charitable actions in the city of Rome on behalf of the pontiff.

The position received new importance under Francis and Krajewski is widely seen as one of the pontiff's closest collaborators.

This was especially true during the coronavirus pandemic, which hit Italy hard: nearly 70.000 people died during the crisis and the infection curve is growing again, with the government imposing a curfew for Christmas and New Year. .

Since the crisis began, the cardinal has been tasked not only with helping the homeless and the poor in Italy, but also around the world, delivering respirators in the pope's name where they were needed most, including Syria, Brazil and Venezuela.

In March, as he drove hundreds of miles a day to deliver food donated by companies and factories to the poor in Rome, he told Crux that it had been tested for COVID-19 and the result had been negative.

"I did it for the sake of the poor and the people who work with me - they have to be safe," he explained.

Dr. Andrea Arcangeli, head of the Vatican Hygiene and Health Office, announced last week that the Vatican plans to vaccinate its employees and city-state citizens, as well as the families of lay employees. Although the Vatican has yet to confirm whether the pope will get the vaccine, it is widely believed that he will need to be vaccinated before his scheduled March 5-8 trip to Iraq.