Pope Francis caresses a toddler during his visit to the Serafina parish social centre to meet with representatives of volunteers and charity centers, in Lisbon on August 4, 2023. Marco Bertorello, AFP/File

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/173991664530520230804-world-youth-day-pope-francis-AFP-1.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Pope Francis caresses a toddler during his visit to the Serafina parish social centre to meet with representatives of volunteers and charity centers, in Lisbon on August 4, 2023. Marco Bertorello, AFP/File</span></span></span></div><p>Pope Francis, who was admitted to hospital last week, has developed pneumonia in both of his lungs, the Vatican said Tuesday, adding that the 88-year-old was in &quot;good spirits&quot;.</p><p>&quot;The laboratory tests, chest X-ray, and the Holy Father&#x27;s clinical condition continue to present a complex picture&quot;, the Vatican said in a statement.</p><p>Francis was admitted to Rome&#x27;s Gemelli hospital last Friday for bronchitis, but the Vatican on Monday said it was changing his treatment following tests.</p><p>It said Tuesday that a &quot;polymicrobial infection&quot; which has come on top of &quot;bronchiectasis and asthmatic bronchitis, and which required the use of cortisone antibiotic therapy, makes therapeutic treatment more complex&quot;.</p><p>&quot;The follow-up chest CT scan which the Holy Father underwent this afternoon... demonstrated the onset of bilateral pneumonia, which required additional drug therapy,&quot; it said.</p><p>The pontiff had part of his right lung cut away when he was 21, after developing pleurisy that almost killed him.</p><p>The Vatican had already cancelled a papal audience on Saturday and said he would not attend a mass on Sunday, although it has yet to announce plans for his weekly Angelus prayer, held on Sunday.</p><p>&quot;Nevertheless, Pope Francis is in good spirits,&quot; it added.</p><p>The pope spent his fifth day in hospital alternating rest with prayer and reading texts, the Vatican said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/2/16/popes-absence-felt-as-faithful-pray-for-his-recovery-amid-hospital-stay-0130">Pope&#x27;s absence felt as faithful pray for his recovery amid hospital stay</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>PILGRIMS PRAY</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Francis, the head of the Catholic Church since 2013, was admitted to hospital after struggling for several days to read his texts in public.</p><p>It is the latest of a series of health issues for the Jesuit, who has undergone hernia and colon surgery since 2021 and uses a wheelchair due to pain in his knee.</p><p>Among the pilgrims and tourists gathered in Saint Peter&#x27;s Square on Tuesday, many said they were praying for the pope&#x27;s recovery.</p><p>&quot;I hope that he&#x27;s getting better soon,&quot; Birgit Jungreuthmayer, a 48-year-old Austrian tourist, told AFP.</p><p>Others gathered outside the Gemelli hospital, holding candles or saying prayers.</p><p>&quot;I came to say a prayer for the pope so that he may recover soon. I send him my best wishes&quot;, said Jacqueline Troncoso, a Bolivian resident in Rome.</p><p>The Vatican published drawings done by children in the hospital for Francis, as well as letters from parents asking him to pray for their sick offspring.</p><p>Francis &quot;gives thanks for the closeness he feels at this time and asks, with a grateful heart, that we continue to pray for him&quot;, it said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>ACTIVE SCHEDULE</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Despite his health troubles, Francis remains a very active pontiff, with a busy weekly schedule and regular overseas trips.</p><p>In September 2024, he completed a four-nation Asia-Pacific tour, the longest of his papacy by duration and distance.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/world/2024/9/4/pope-makes-appeal-on-extremism-as-he-launches-asia-tour-1938">Pope makes appeal on extremism as he launches Asia tour</a><br/><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/world/2024/9/11/pope-lands-in-singapore-final-stop-on-grand-asia-pacific-tour-036">Pope lands in Singapore, final stop on grand Asia-Pacific tour</a></div><p>A source within the pope&#x27;s entourage had told AFP Monday that Francis was admitted after a &quot;very busy&quot; two weeks, during which &quot;he was weakened&quot; -- but insisted there was no alarm.</p><p>Francis followed last Sunday&#x27;s mass on television from hospital and sent a written address for the Angelus.</p><p>&quot;I would have liked to be among you but, as you know, I am here at the Gemelli hospital because I still need some treatment for my bronchitis,&quot; Francis wrote.</p><p>The Jesuit has left open the option of resigning if he became unable to carry out his duties.</p><p>His predecessor, Benedict XVI, stunned the world in 2013 by becoming the first pope since the Middle Ages to step down, citing his ailing health.</p><p>But in a memoir published last year, Francis wrote that he did &quot;not have any cause serious enough to make me think of resigning&quot;.</p><p>Stepping down is a &quot;distant possibility&quot; that would be justified only in the event of &quot;a serious physical impediment&quot;, he wrote.</p><p>In an autobiography published last month, he said that despite his ailments, &quot;I carry on&quot;.</p><p>&quot;The reality is, quite simply, that I am old,&quot; he said.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>Pope Francis, who was admitted to hospital last week, has developed pneumonia in both of his lungs, the Vatican said Tuesday, adding that the 88-year-old was in "good spirits".</p>

Pope Francis, who was admitted to hospital last week, has developed pneumonia in both of his lungs, the Vatican said Tuesday, adding that the 88-year-old was in "good spirits".

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Pope Francis has double pneumonia: Vatican

Pope Francis has double pneumonia: Vatican

Agence France-Presse

Published Feb 19, 2025 06:14 AM PHT

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