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01-03-2025
VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis, who has been battling pneumonia for two weeks, is showing signs of improvement, the Vatican has said in a medical update.
He will remain in hospital due to a complex clinical picture, the Vatican said on Friday morning.
It added the 88-year-old had another “peaceful night” and is “now resting” in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.
Italian news agency Ansa reported that the pontiff was now out of the “critical phase”, citing Vatican sources.
The Pope was admitted to hospital on 14 February after experiencing breathing difficulties for several days.
He was first treated for bronchitis before being diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs.
Then on 22 February, the Vatican said that the Pope had experienced a respiratory crisis and was in a “critical” condition, but later on Sunday released an update that he had “not presented any further respiratory crises”.
The following day the Pope issued a statement asking Catholics to pray for him after he was unable to deliver the traditional Angelus prayer in person for the second week running but, while the Vatican said the Pope’s health is improving it added “further days of clinical stability are necessary to resolve the prognosis”.
Earlier, Pope Francis has asked Catholics to pray for him, as he continues to receive treatment in hospital for double pneumonia.
The pontiff was unable to deliver the traditional Angelus prayer in person for the second Sunday running but in a message written over the last few days, he said he was “confidently continuing” his hospitalization at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital and “carrying on with the necessary treatment”.
The message comes after the Vatican revealed on Saturday that the 88-year-old’s condition continues to be “critical”.
In his message, released on Sunday, the Pope thanked the doctors and health workers at the hospital, and well-wishers who sent in messages.
“In recent days I have received many messages of affection, and I have been particularly struck by the letters and drawings from children,” he wrote.
“Thank you for this closeness, and for the prayers of comfort I have received from all over the world! I entrust you all to the intercession of Mary, and I ask you to pray for me.”
Well-wishers have continued to pray outside the hospital.
Dozens of people have been seen lighting candles and leaving them at the foot of a nearby statue of the late Pope John Paul II.
Pope was first admitted to hospital on 14 February after experiencing difficulties breathing for several days.
He is especially prone to lung infections due to developing pleurisy, an inflammation around the lungs as an adult and having part of one of his lungs removed at age 21.
During his 12 years as leader of the Roman Catholic Church, the Argentine has been admitted to hospital several times, including in March 2023 when he spent three nights in hospital with bronchitis.
The Pope has asked for openness about his health, so the Vatican has started to release daily statements. The tone and length of the announcements has varied, sometimes leaving Pope-watchers to attempt to read between the lines.
On Saturday, the Vatican said the Roman Catholic leader was alert and spent the day in an armchair, but that he was “not out of danger” and that he was “more unwell” than he was on Friday. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
