Candles with the pictures of Pope Francis are seen under the statue of late Pope John Paul II, outside Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, on February 19, 2025, where the Pontiff is hospitalized since February 14, 2025
| Photo Credit: ap

Pope Francis is alert and still making jokes despite having double pneumonia, Italy’s Prime Minister said Wednesday (February 19, 2025) after visiting the 88-year-old pontiff in hospital.

Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital with bronchitis last Friday, but the Holy See revealed on Tuesday that he had developed pneumonia in both of his lungs.

The development caused widespread alarm over the Pope’s health, after a series of issues in recent years, from colon and hernia surgery to problems walking.

“I was very happy to find him alert and responsive. We joked as always. He hasn’t lost his proverbial sense of humour,” Giorgia Meloni said in a statement after her visit.

Amid widespread speculation online, including reports of his death, the Vatican issued an early bulletin Wednesday saying he had spent a “peaceful night” in the hospital’s papal suite and had breakfast.

“The pope is breathing on his own. His heart is holding up very well,” a source in the Vatican added.

Francis has been speaking to friends by telephone, has been out of bed and sitting in a chair, and working on and off, the source said.

‘Complex picture’

The Argentine Pope, who has been head of the Catholic Church since 2013, keeps a busy schedule despite his age and ailments, and this year is busy with celebrations of the holy Jubilee year.

But he had struggled to read his homilies in the days before his hospital admission.

After an initial diagnosis of bronchitis, the Holy See revealed on Tuesday evening that “the laboratory tests, chest X-ray, and the Holy Father’s clinical condition continue to present a complex picture”.

A “polymicrobial infection” which has come on top of “bronchiectasis and asthmatic bronchitis, and which required the use of cortisone antibiotic therapy, makes therapeutic treatment more complex”, the Vatican said.

“The follow-up chest CT scan which the Holy Father underwent this afternoon… demonstrated the onset of bilateral pneumonia, which required additional drug therapy,” it added.

Bronchiectasis is when the bronchi, or air passages, thicken due to infection or another condition.

The pontiff had part of his right lung cut away when he was 21, after developing pleurisy that almost killed him.

The Vatican has cancelled a papal audience on Saturday and said the pope would not attend a mass on Sunday, although it has yet to announce plans for his weekly Angelus prayer, which is held on Sunday at midday.

‘Vital energy’

Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar general of the Diocese of Rome, called on all parishes in the Italian capital to pray for the pope’s recovery.

Candles, some with pictures of the pope on them, have been set at the bottom of a statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital, where pilgrims have been coming to pray.

“I hope he recovers as soon as possible because this is the Jubilee year and he has so much to do for young people, for everyone, it’s very sad,” said Annamaria Santoro, an Italian woman whose son was in the same hospital.

The Vatican published drawings made by children in the hospital for Francis, as well as letters from parents asking him to pray for their sick offspring.

Jesuit theologian Antonio Spadaro, who is close to Francis, told Italy’s Corriere della Sera daily the pope could be in hospital for two to three weeks.

“It is clear that the situation is delicate, but I have not perceived any form of alarmism,” he said.

The pope “has an extraordinary vital energy. He is not a person who lets himself go, he is not a resigned man. And that is a very positive element, we have seen that in the past”, he said.

The Pope has left open the option of resigning were he to become unable to carry out his duties.

But in a memoir last year Francis said it was just a “distant possibility” that would be justified only in the event of “a serious physical impediment”.

Vatican City:

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”.

“The laboratory tests, chest X-ray, and the Holy Father’s clinical condition continue to present a complex picture”, the Vatican said in a statement.

Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital last Friday for bronchitis, but the Vatican on Monday said it was changing his treatment following tests.

It said Tuesday that a “polymicrobial infection” which has come on top of “bronchiectasis and asthmatic bronchitis, and which required the use of cortisone antibiotic therapy, makes therapeutic treatment more complex”.

“The follow-up chest CT scan which the Holy Father underwent this afternoon… demonstrated the onset of bilateral pneumonia, which required additional drug therapy,” it said.

The pontiff had part of his right lung cut away when he was 21, after developing pleurisy that almost killed him.

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.

“Nevertheless, Pope Francis is in good spirits,” it added.

The pope spent his fifth day in hospital alternating rest with prayer and reading texts, the Vatican said.

Pilgrims pray

Francis, the head of the Catholic Church since 2013, was admitted to hospital after struggling for several days to read his texts in public.

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.

Among the pilgrims and tourists gathered in Saint Peter’s Square on Tuesday, many said they were praying for the pope’s recovery.

“I hope that he’s getting better soon,” Birgit Jungreuthmayer, a 48-year-old Austrian tourist, told AFP.

Others gathered outside the Gemelli hospital, holding candles or saying prayers.

“I came to say a prayer for the pope so that he may recover soon. I send him my best wishes”, said Jacqueline Troncoso, a Bolivian resident in Rome.

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.

Francis “gives thanks for the closeness he feels at this time and asks, with a grateful heart, that we continue to pray for him”, it said.

Active schedule

Despite his health troubles, Francis remains a very active pontiff, with a busy weekly schedule and regular overseas trips.

In September 2024, he completed a four-nation Asia-Pacific tour, the longest of his papacy by duration and distance.

A source within the pope’s entourage had told AFP Monday that Francis was admitted after a “very busy” two weeks, during which “he was weakened” — but insisted there was no alarm.

Francis followed last Sunday’s mass on television from hospital and sent a written address for the Angelus.

“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,” Francis wrote.

The Jesuit has left open the option of resigning if he became unable to carry out his duties.

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.

But in a memoir published last year, Francis wrote that he did “not have any cause serious enough to make me think of resigning”.

Stepping down is a “distant possibility” that would be justified only in the event of “a serious physical impediment”, he wrote.

In an autobiography published last month, he said that despite his ailments, “I carry on”.

“The reality is, quite simply, that I am old,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Rome:

Pope Francis, hospitalised for bronchitis four days ago, faces a “complex clinical picture”, the Vatican said on Monday, indicating that the 88-year-old’s stay will be longer than initially believed.

After initially cancelling events through till Monday, the Vatican said the pope’s weekly Wednesday audience would not go ahead either.

“The results of the tests carried out in recent days and today have demonstrated a polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract that has led to a further change in treatment,” the Vatican said in a statement.

“All the tests carried out until now are indicative of a complex clinical picture that will require adequate hospitalisation.”

A Vatican source told AFP the pope was receiving oxygen.

A separate source in the pope’s entourage had earlier insisted there was “no alarmism” following his Friday admission to Rome’s Gemelli hospital.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told reporters as the new health update was published Monday that he was in “good humour”.

But the developments will raise fresh concerns about the Argentine pontiff, who has suffered increasing health issues in recent years.

‘Weakened’ 

Before his admission, after his usual Friday morning meetings, Francis had admitted to difficulty breathing and had asked aides several times to read his speeches aloud on his behalf.

At his weekly general audience last Wednesday, he said he “cannot yet” read his own speeches, adding with a smile: “I hope that next time I can.”

A source within the pope’s entourage told AFP on Monday that Francis was admitted after a “very busy” two weeks, during which “he was weakened”.

But the source added: “There is no alarmism.”

Earlier, Bruni said Francis had passed a third “peaceful” night in hospital and on Monday morning had eaten breakfast and read the newspapers.

The pontiff, who had part of one of his lungs removed as a young man, has been plagued by health issues but continues to maintain a very busy schedule.

He pulled out of a Good Friday event last year after catching what the Vatican called a “light flu” but went on to lead Easter services as planned.

A year earlier, in March 2023, Francis was admitted to hospital for three nights with bronchitis, which was cured with antibiotics.

Another bout of bronchitis caused him to cancel a December 2023 visit to Dubai to participate in the United Nations COP28 climate change conference.

The pope also underwent a hernia operation in June 2023 and in 2021 underwent surgery for a type of diverticulitis, an inflammation of pockets that develop in the lining of the intestine.

He has been using a wheelchair since 2022 because of persistent knee pain and uses a cane during rare moments standing up.

Francis has also fallen a couple of times in the past few months, bruising his forearm in January and sporting a large bruise on his right jaw in December, caused by toppling from his bed.

Yet despite his health troubles, Francis remains an active pontiff.

In September 2024, he completed a four-nation Asia-Pacific tour, the longest of his papacy by duration and distance.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)