Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Pope Francis speaks during the weekly general audience at Paul-VI hall in The Vatican on February 5, 2025. Alberto Pizzoli, AFP

Article (news)

Pope

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:958px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1741779336675Screen Shot 2025-03-12 at 7.35.17 PM.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Pope Francis speaks during the weekly general audience at Paul-VI hall in The Vatican on February 5, 2025. Alberto Pizzoli, AFP"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Pope Francis speaks during the weekly general audience at Paul-VI hall in The Vatican on February 5, 2025. <em>Alberto Pizzoli, AFP</em></span></span></span>VATICAN, Holy See — Pope Francis, 88, who has been in hospital since February 14 with pneumonia in both lungs, has been gradually improving and talk has turned to when he might go home.</div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/3/12/pope-spent-quiet-night-in-hospital-vatican-1558">Pope spent &#x27;quiet night&#x27; in hospital: Vatican</a></div><p>But the Argentine has still not been seen in public since his admission, and in an audio message released on March 6, the octogenarian sounded weak and breathless.</p><p>Here is what we know about the health of Francis, who will mark on Thursday 12 years as head of the Catholic Church and its almost 1.4 billion followers.</p><div><strong>RESPIRATORY ATTACKS</strong></div><p>Francis suffered several respiratory attacks during his stay at Rome&#x27;s Gemelli hospital, which raised concerns for his life.</p><p>On February 22 the Vatican said he had that day suffered a &quot;prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis&quot;, and also required blood transfusions for thrombocytopenia, a condition that can prevent clotting and lead to continued bleeding.</p><p>On February 28 the pope suffered &quot;an isolated crisis of bronchospasm&quot; -- a tightening of the muscles that line the airways in the lungs -- which caused &quot;an episode of vomiting with inhalation&quot;, the Holy See said.</p><p>On March 3 Francis suffered &quot;two episodes of acute respiratory failure&quot; and doctors performed two bronchoscopies in order to remove &quot;abundant secretions&quot;.</p><p>After that, the Vatican said he was wearing an oxygen mask at night, switching during the day to high-flow oxygen delivered through a cannula, a plastic tube tucked into the nostrils.</p><div><strong>IMPROVEMENTS, TALK TURNS TO HOME</strong></div><p>Since March 4, the Vatican has reported gradual improvements in the pope&#x27;s condition, and on March 10 announced in a medical bulletin that it was changing his prognosis, which for weeks had been &quot;reserved&quot;, meaning uncertain.</p><p>&quot;The improvements recorded in the previous days have been further consolidated, as confirmed by blood tests and clinical objectivity and the good response to pharmacological therapy,&quot; it said.</p><p>A Vatican source said he still had pneumonia but confirmed &quot;there is no imminent danger&quot; to his life.</p><p>The Vatican bulletin also raised for the first time the prospect of an end to Francis&#x27;s hospitalization, talking of &quot;days&quot; of treatment ahead.</p><p>&quot;Given the complexity of the pope’s clinical picture and the severe infection present at the time of hospitalization, it will still be necessary to continue pharmacological treatment in a hospital setting for several more days,&quot; it said.</p><p>On March 11, the Vatican press office gave a briefing saying the pope remained stable, with &quot;slight improvements within a framework for doctors that remains complex&quot;.</p><p>It refused to speculate on when Francis might go home.</p><div><span style="background-color:transparent"><strong>REGULAR UPDATES</strong></span><span style="background-color:transparent"></span></div><div><span style="background-color:transparent">The pope has been staying in a special suite on the 10th floor of the hospital, alternating prayers with physiotherapy, as well as doing some work and receiving colleagues, the Vatican says.</span></div><p>He has in recent days also joined via video link -- without being seen -- spiritual exercises (prayers and meditations) held at the Vatican.</p><p>In a notable shift towards transparency compared to previous papacies, the Vatican has been providing daily updates, at the request of Francis himself.</p><p>The morning statement, issued shortly after 0700 GMT, is normally one line describing his night&#x27;s sleep, followed by a more detailed medical bulletin at around 1800 GMT.</p><p>Since March 7, due to the stability of his condition, the Vatican has only issued the evening bulletin every other day. The next is due on Wednesday evening.</p><p>The Vatican press office also provides regular updates.</p><p>However, Francis has not been seen in public since being hospitalized, notably missing four successive Sunday Angelus prayers, and no photos have been released.</p><p>In the audio message, in which Francis thanked well-wishers for their prayers, the pope sounded very frail.</p><div><strong>LONGEST HOSPITAL STAY</strong></div><p>This is the longest and most fraught hospital stay since Francis became pope on March 13, 2013.</p><p>But he has had health issues for years, even while maintaining a packed schedule, including frequent overseas visits.</p><p>Francis was treated at the Gemelli between July 4 and July 14, 2021, for surgery for diverticulitis, an inflammation of pockets that develop in the lining of the intestine.</p><p>In March 2023, he was an inpatient for three days for bronchitis and between June 7 and June 16 that year was admitted for a hernia operation.</p><p>As a young man, he had part of his right lung removed, making him more susceptible to respiratory infections.</p><p>Knee and hip pain have forced him to use a wheelchair since 2022. He underwent cataract surgery in 2019 and recently began wearing a hearing aid.</p><div><strong>— By Clément Melki, Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/m4KQ7SxceCs?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>Since March 4, the Vatican has reported gradual improvements in the pope's condition.</p>

Since March 4, the Vatican has reported gradual improvements in the pope's condition.

What we know about the health of Pope Francis

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What we know about the health of Pope Francis

Agence France-Presse

Published Mar 12, 2025 07:57 PM PHT

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