Nelson Morales

Pope Francis undergoes physiotherapy in hospital

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

Pope Francis was doing physiotherapy Saturday after passing a quiet night, the Vatican said, as the 88-year-old head of the global Catholic Church battles pneumonia.Francis &quot;is going on with treatment and physiotherapy this morning&quot;, the Vatican said, having earlier issued a briefing which simply said his night had been &quot;calm&quot;.The pontiff, who had part of one of his lungs removed as a young man, has been in a special papal suite at Rome&#x27;s Gemelli hospital since February 14.The Argentine has suffered several respiratory crises since his admission, most recently on Monday, but for several days now the Vatican has described his condition as &quot;stable&quot;.He is still in a &quot;complex clinical condition&quot; so &quot;the prognosis remains guarded&quot;, it said Friday.On Thursday Francis released an audio message -- the first time the world had heard his voice since he went into hospital -- in which he thanked those praying for his recovery.The pontiff sounded weak and breathless despite marking three weeks of treatment at the Gemelli.&quot;I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers for my health from the Square. I accompany you from here,&quot; said Francis, taking laboured breaths every couple of words.- Resting, praying -The pope on Friday mostly rested and prayed, including spending around 20 minutes in the little chapel inside the hospital&#x27;s papal suite, the Vatican said.He continues to switch between an oxygen mask at night and a cannula -- a plastic tube tucking into the nostrils -- delivering high-flow oxygen during the day.He has been doing bits of work when possible.On Saturday, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin read aloud a message on the pope&#x27;s behalf during a mass in St Peter&#x27;s Basilica.The pope had worked on the message from hospital just a few days ago, on March 5, the Vatican said.In a bid for greater transparency, the Vatican has been publishing an update on how the pope slept every morning, followed by a more detailed medical bulletin each evening.On Thursday it said that &quot;in view of the stability of the clinical picture&quot;, there would be no medical bulletin on Friday evening. The next is due later Saturday.During previous hospitalizations, the leader of the world&#x27;s 1.4 billion Catholics appeared on the Gemelli balcony for his weekly Sunday Angelus prayer.But he has missed the last three.The Vatican press office said Saturday that it was &quot;quite probable&quot; the Angelus would be delivered this Sunday &quot;in the same way&quot; as in previous weeks, when it was published as a letter released at noon.The pope has suffered a series of health issues in recent years, from colon surgery in 2021 to a hernia operation in 2023, but this is the longest and most serious hospitalization of his papacy.

Pope Francis was doing physiotherapy Saturday after passing a quiet night, the Vatican said, as the 88-year-old head of the global Catholic Church battles pneumonia.

Pope Francis was doing physiotherapy Saturday after passing a quiet night, the Vatican said, as the 88-year-old head of the global Catholic Church battles pneumonia.