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10-03-2025
VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis, who has been battling pneumonia and bronchitis for more than three weeks, has shown a “good response” to treatment, the Vatican has said.
“The clinical condition of the Holy Father in recent days has remained stable and, consequently, indicates a good response to the treatment,” the Vatican said.
“There is therefore a gradual, slight improvement”, it added.
The 88-year-old prayed on Saturday morning in the chapel of the papal suite at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he is being treated.
The Argentine pontiff has not been seen in public since entering the hospital, his longest stretch away from the public eye since his papacy began 12 years ago.
He was admitted to hospital on 14 February after experiencing breathing difficulties and first treated for bronchitis before being diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs.
He is particularly vulnerable to pneumonia, an infection of the lungs that can be caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi, after he contracted pleurisy, an inflammation of the lungs as a young man and had a partial lung removal.
The Pope’s doctors believe he is likely to face a long road to recovery, due to his age and medical history.
Pope Francis has recorded and released an audio message thanking those who have been praying for his recovery, his voice breathless as he nears three weeks in hospital with pneumonia.
“I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers for my health from the square, I accompany you from here,” Francis said in a message broadcast in St Peter’s Square.
“May God bless you and the Virgin protect you. Thank you,” he said, taking laboured breaths as he spoke in his native Spanish, with some words fading away into nothing.
It was the first time the world has heard Francis’ voice since the 88-year-old was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on 14 February.
Pilgrims have been gathering in St Peter’s Square every evening to pray for the pope’s recovery. The hundreds of people there on Thursday applauded when they heard his message.
The Vatican said earlier on Thursday that the Argentine, head of the worldwide Catholic Church since 2013, is in a “stable” condition.
There had been no repeat of Monday’s respiratory failure, it said, and the pope’s blood work “remained stable”. Francis continued with his breathing exercises and physiotherapy, did not have a fever, and managed to do some work in the morning and afternoon, it said.
The Vatican has been providing twice daily updates on the pope’s health, in the morning on how the night went and an evening medical bulletin. But on Thursday it said that “in view of the stability of the clinical picture, the next medical bulletin will be released on Saturday”.
Nonetheless, “the doctors are still maintaining a reserved prognosis”, it said, meaning they will not say how they expect his condition to evolve.
For the last three nights Francis who had part of a lung removed as a young man has worn an oxygen mask to help him sleep. On Thursday morning, as on the previous day, he switched to a less onerous nasal cannula, a plastic tube tucking into his nostrils which provides high-flow oxygen, a Vatican source said.
Francis missed the formal Ash Wednesday celebrations in Rome marking the start of Lent, but took part in a blessing in his private suite on the 10th floor of the Gemelli.
The leader of the world’s almost 1.4 billion Catholics has not been seen in public since his hospitalization, the longest of his papacy. (Int’l News Desk)
