The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, currently hospitalized with pneumonia, is displaying minor indications of recovery, though it remains premature to consider his discharge, according to updates from the Vatican.
The 88-year-old was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14 and experienced multiple respiratory emergencies, the most recent occurring seven days ago.
Since that time, medical professionals have characterized his condition as “stable” and over the weekend noted “slight improvements… in a complex overall picture”.
However, “it is too soon to talk about his return to Santa Marta”, the residence within the small city-state where the pope resides, a Vatican insider revealed on Monday, March 10.
Pope Francis passed a calm night in his 10th-floor suite at the Gemelli and was dedicating the day to physical and breathing exercises, as reported by the Vatican.
Like previous mornings, he transitioned from the oxygen mask worn at night to a cannula — a plastic tube inserted into the nostrils — which provides high-flow oxygen, it explained.
The leader of the globe’s nearly 1.4 billion Catholics has been engaging in work intermittently and keeping up with news when feasible, including catastrophic floods affecting his native Argentina.
Pope Francis “is close to the people of the Bahia Blanca area in thought and prayer”, the Vatican stated Monday, alluding to the port city where 16 individuals have perished.
The pope has endured a range of health challenges in recent times, from colon surgery in 2021 to a hernia procedure in 2023, but this marks the lengthiest and most severe hospitalization of his tenure.
On prior occasions, he has appeared on the Gemelli balcony for his weekly Sunday Angelus prayer.
But on Sunday, he was absent for the fourth consecutive time from delivering the customary Angelus prayer in person.
Instead, he provided a written version.
“I too experience the thoughtfulness of service and the tenderness of care, in particular from the doctors and healthcare workers, whom I thank from the bottom of my heart,” he expressed.
Pope Francis has not been visible in public since his admission, though he shared a breathless audio message on Thursday expressing gratitude for people’s prayers.
On Sunday, approximately 180 individuals from dioceses near Milan gathered outside the hospital to collectively offer prayers for the pope.
“We said let’s go to the pope, at the Gemelli, and pray for him. He will not hear us, he will not see us, we won’t see him, but it’s a gesture of closeness,” 32-year-old priest Marco Ferrari told AFP.
A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.
Nnamdi Okoli
