Pope sends message from hospital bed as Vatican sources give update
Pope Francis is still receiving a high flow of oxygen – but has suffered no further crisis, Vatican sources have said.
The sources added the Pope is eating normally, and that clinical tests are ongoing.
The 88-year-old has been at Rome’s Gemelli hospital for more than a week as he receives treatment for double pneumonia and chronic bronchitis.
Earlier this morning, in its latest update since the pontiff was admitted to hospital on 14 February, the Vatican said he had a “tranquil” night.
It said he will not lead Sunday prayers for the second week running, adding: “The Pope rested well.”
Instead, Francis, who has been leading the Catholic Church since 2013, prepared words to be read at the recitation of Sunday’s Angelus, and asked people to pray for him.
“I am confidently continuing my hospitalisation at the Gemelli Hospital, carrying on with the necessary treatment; and rest is also part of the therapy! I sincerely thank the doctors and health workers of this hospital for the attention they are showing me and the dedication with which they carry out their service among the sick,” he said in his message from his hospital bed, released by the Vatican on Sunday.
“In recent days I have received many messages of affection, and I have been particularly struck by the letters and drawings from children. Thank you for this closeness, and for the prayers of comfort I have received from all over the world! I entrust you all to the intercession of Mary, and I ask you to pray for me.”
Vatican sources said the message was written during the last few days.
On Saturday night, the Vatican said the Pope was in a critical condition after a “prolonged respiratory crisis” that required a high flow of oxygen.
He also had blood transfusions after tests revealed thrombocytopenia, which is associated with anaemia.
Doctors said the prognosis was “reserved”.
Millions of people around the world have been concerned about the Pope’s increasingly frail health – and his condition has given rise to speculation over a possible resignation, which the Vatican has not commented on.
Doctors on Friday said he was “not out of danger” and was expected to remain in hospital for at least another week.
Sergio Alfieri, the chief of the pontiff’s medical team, said: “Is he out of danger? No. But if the question is ‘is he in danger of death’, the answer is ‘no’.”
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Doctors warned that while he did not have sepsis – where germs enter the bloodstream – there was always a risk the infection could spread in his body, and they said that was the biggest concern.
Sepsis is a complication of an infection that can lead to organ failure and death.
Pope Francis has a history of respiratory illness, having lost part of one of his lungs to pleurisy as a young man.
He had an acute case of pneumonia in 2023.