VATICAN CITY — On his sixth full day in Rome's Gemelli hospital, "the Holy Father's clinical condition is improving slightly," the Vatican said.
He continues to be without fever and "his hemodynamic parameters continue to be stable," said an evening bulletin Feb. 20. "Hemodynamic parameters" refer to a series of tests measuring cardiac output and other indicators of whether a patient's heart health is being impacted by a given therapy.
"He received the Eucharist this morning and afterward dedicated time to work," the bulletin said. Previously, the Vatican said he was reading and working on texts. The suite of rooms reserved for the pope on the 10th floor of the Gemelli hospital includes an office for the pope's secretaries and a chapel.
The morning bulletin Feb. 20 specified that the pope had gotten out of bed to eat breakfast.
Pope Francis, who celebrated his 88th birthday in December, has been in Rome's Gemelli hospital since Feb. 14; he was diagnosed with double pneumonia.
While Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, did not confirm that Pope Francis had received the sacrament of the anointing of the sick, it was presumed that he had since the church encourages those with a serious illness to receive it. It is not reserved to those in immediate danger of death.
Several times during Pope Francis' stay, his medical team -- made up of doctors from the Vatican and from the Gemelli staff -- have adjusted his medications to fight his respiratory ailment more precisely.
Spanish Cardinal Juan José Omella Omella of Barcelona, who was at the Vatican to present a peace and dialogue initiative for young people around the Mediterranean Sea, was stopped by reporters Feb. 20 outside the Vatican press office and asked about the pope's health.
With the medical bulletins the Vatican is putting out, he joked, everyone needs to start studying medicine. But "the first lesson, I'd say, is that the pope is doing well."
The news that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited the pope Feb. 19 and that the pope was getting out of bed and had breakfast Feb. 20 in an armchair are good signs, the cardinal said.
"I have not been to the Gemelli, but it seems that things are going much better," Cardinal Omella said; "it's hopeful news."
A reporter asked the cardinal if he thought the pope would resign. Cardinal Omella said he had never asked the pope what he would or would not do.
"The pope knows what he has to do, I imagine, and since his head is fine, thanks be to God, he will decide," he said.
But "I hope the pope will continue," he said. "He has set the church on a good path," especially by promoting the synodal style of all Catholics taking responsibility for the mission of the church and by focusing the Holy Year on hope.
Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline of Marseille, France, who also was at the Vatican to talk about the Mediterranean initiative also was asked about Pope Francis' ability to continue to lead the church and about the possibility of a papal resignation.
"I'm not worried about his lucidity," the cardinal said, nor is he worried about the pope somehow lacking the freedom to decide whether it is best for the church that he remain or resign.
"He is a fighter," Cardinal Aveline said, not in the sense of being a warrior, but in the sense of being "someone who prays a lot. And what comes in prayer, what has matured, then he applies it, whatever the obstacles, whatever the difficulties."
In the Roman Missal, which contains the prayers used at Mass, there is a prayer that says, "Lord, give us a clear vision of what we have to do and the strength to accomplish it," the French cardinal said. "For me, that prayer describes his personality."
Retired Italian Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi told the Italian radio station RTL that he could imagine Pope Francis resigning one day. "There is no question that if he were in a situation where his ability to have direct contact, as he loves to have, to be able to communicate in an immediate, incisive and decisive way was compromised, then I think he might decide to resign."
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna, president of the Italian bishops' conference, told reporters the fact that the pope was out of bed, was reading and had a visit from the Italian prime minister "means that things are going in the right direction toward a full recovery that we hope comes soon."
According to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, when Pope Francis met Prime Minister Meloni at the hospital Feb. 19, he joked: "Some prayed the pope would be taken to Heaven, but the Lord of the harvest decided to leave me here a while."
At the Vatican news conference the next day, both Cardinals Omella and Aveline said Catholics are called to pray for the pope and leave the future to him and to God.
— Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service
Pope continues to rest, do paperwork at hospital
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Pope continues to rest, do paperwork at hospital
VATICAN CITY — The morning after the Vatican confirmed Pope Francis has double pneumonia, the director of the Vatican press office said the pope had a restful night at Rome's Gemelli hospital.
Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, told reporters early Feb. 19 that the pope slept peacefully, woke up and had breakfast.
A CT scan Feb. 18 "demonstrated the onset of bilateral pneumonia, which required additional drug therapy," according to the previous evening's medical bulletin.
The 88-year-old pope's history of lung problems and repeated bouts of bronchitis have resulted in "bronchiectasis," a widening of the airways that makes a person more susceptible to infection, and "asthmatic bronchitis" which makes "therapeutic treatment more complex," the bulletin had said.
Still, Pope Francis was reportedly getting out of bed each day, reading and doing some work. Although the doctors' orders for "complete rest" meant he was not receiving visitors, his secretaries were at the hospital with him.
Most evenings at 7 p.m. he was making his regular phone call to Holy Family Parish in Gaza, where the priests and sisters on staff are giving shelter to hundreds of people.
A source, who was not authorized to give details of the pope's medical condition, said the pope's heart is "holding up well" and that he has not needed a ventilator, oxygen mask or CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine.
The source also confirmed that a couple of days before Pope Francis agreed to be hospitalized, he had gone to Rome's Gemelli Isola Hospital for tests. He has been an inpatient at the main Gemelli hospital since Feb. 14.
— Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service
Pope diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia
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Pope diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia
VATICAN CITY — After undergoing a CT scan Feb. 18, Pope Francis was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia, the Vatican said.
"The follow-up chest CT scan which the Holy Father underwent this afternoon," the Vatican bulletin said, "demonstrated the onset of bilateral pneumonia, which required additional drug therapy."
"Laboratory tests, chest X-rays and the Holy Father's clinical condition continue to present a complex picture," the evening bulletin said.
Doctors had said the day before that tests revealed a "polymicrobial infection" of the 88-year-old pope's respiratory system, meaning it is caused by a virus-bacteria combination. The infection, along with the "bronchiectasis and asthmatic bronchitis," which the pope suffers from after years of respiratory problems and repeated bouts of bronchitis, "required the use of cortisone antibiotic therapy," it said, which made "therapeutic treatment more complex."
Still, the statement said, "Pope Francis is in good spirits. This morning he received the Eucharist, and throughout the day he alternated rest with prayer and reading texts."
Pope Francis thanked people "for the closeness he feels at this time and asks, with a grateful heart, that we continue to pray for him," the press office said.
Earlier in the day, the Vatican had announced that "due to the Holy Father's health condition," his appointments had been canceled through Feb. 22.
In addition, the note said, "Pope Francis has delegated Archbishop Rino Fisichella," pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization and chief organizer of the Holy Year 2025, to celebrate the Mass and ordinations of permanent deacons Feb. 23.
Pope Francis was hospitalized Feb. 14 after more than a week of suffering from bronchitis and difficulty breathing.
A source, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said Feb. 18 that the pope was breathing on his own without the need for supplemental oxygen.
A statue of St. John Paul II stands outside the Gemelli hospital, which the Polish pontiff helped make known around the world because of multiple stays there, particularly after a would-be assassin shot him in May 1981.
As Pope Francis is being treated on the hospital's 10th floor, in the same suite of rooms St. John Paul and his entourage would use, people are leaving flowers, cards and lighted votive candles at the statue.
Father Jim Sichko, a priest of the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky, left a card Feb. 18 along with a bottle of Kentucky bourbon. Although he did not sign his name, he used the hashtags #MissionaryOfMercy and #BourbonFairy, which led to his account on X.
By the time a Catholic News Service photographer arrived at the statue not long after Father Sichko had gone, the bottle of bourbon had been removed.
"Maybe someone brought it to the pope," he wrote in a message to CNS, which was unable to confirm the whereabouts of the beverage.
The Vatican had announced earlier that the pope would not be holding his weekly general audience Feb. 19. The Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Michigan, who distribute free audience tickets in Rome to visitors from the U.S. immediately sent an email to all the individuals, couples, families and groups who had requested tickets.
Mercy Sister Maria Juan Anderson, coordinator of the Bishops' Office for U.S. Visitors to the Vatican, said they had expected to distribute 650 tickets, which included four pilgrim groups from U.S. parishes and universities.
Fortunately, only a handful of people missed the email: a newlywed couple hoping for the pope's blessing, one family and two priests, she said. "Everyone of course understands ... and they all said they were praying for the Holy Father."
The pope, who underwent surgery in 1957 to remove part of one of his lungs after suffering a severe respiratory infection, has been susceptible to colds and bouts of bronchitis.
In March 2023, he was hospitalized at Gemelli for three days for what doctors said was a respiratory infection. Pope Francis later said it had been "an acute and strong pneumonia."
— Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service
As pope remains in hospital, Vatican announces schedule changes
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As pope remains in hospital, Vatican announces schedule changes
VATICAN CITY — In another sign that Pope Francis' stay in Rome's Gemelli hospital will continue for some time, the Vatican announced a substitute presider for the Mass and ordinations as part of the Jubilee of Deacons.
In a brief note to journalists Feb. 18, the Vatican said, "Due to the Holy Father's health condition," his appointments had been canceled through Feb. 22.
In addition, the note said, "Pope Francis has delegated Archbishop Rino Fisichella," pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization and chief organizer of the Holy Year 2025, to celebrate the Mass and ordinations of permanent deacons Feb. 23.
The 88-year-old pope was hospitalized Feb. 14 after more than a week of suffering from bronchitis and difficulty breathing.
A source, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said Feb. 18 that the pope was breathing on his own without the need for supplemental oxygen.
Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, told reporters Feb. 18 that the pope again had rested well overnight, was eating regularly, reading newspapers and doing some work.
The Vatican had said Feb. 17 that test results showed that the pope is suffering from a "polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract, which required a further modification of his therapy." Polymicrobial means multiple pathogens are involved.
The pope, who underwent surgery in 1957 to remove part of one of his lungs after suffering a severe respiratory infection, has been susceptible to colds and bouts of bronchitis.
In March 2023, he was hospitalized at Gemelli for three days for what doctors said was a respiratory infection. Pope Francis later said it had been "an acute and strong pneumonia."
— Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service