Pope Francis’ clinical condition “is stable,” and the blood tests examined by his doctors “have shown a slight improvement, in particular in the inflammation indices,” the Vatican said in a communique issued at 7 p.m. local time this evening.
After yesterday’s unsettling news, the medical report today is more comforting, though by no means conclusive.
The 88-year-old pope is combatting pneumonia in both lungs caused by a polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract. His doctors described his clinical condition as “complex” and have struggled to find an adequate pharmacological therapy.
[Pope Francis has pneumonia in both lungs. How worrying is that?]
Francis’ history of lung problems and repeated bouts of bronchitis have resulted in “bronchiectasis,” a widening of the airways that makes a person more susceptible to infection, and “asthmatic bronchitis,” which makes “therapeutic treatment more complex,” a Feb. 18 Vatican press bulletin said.
This evening the Vatican reported that the pope “read some newspapers after breakfast” and then “dedicated himself to work activities with his closest collaborators,” referring to his two priest private secretaries, one Argentinian, the other Italian.
“He received the Eucharist before lunch,” the Vatican statement said. It reported that in the afternoon he received a visit from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, “with whom he stayed privately for 20 minutes.” As far as we know, the Italian prime minister is the only person besides his secretaries who has been able to visit the pope since last Saturday when his doctors prescribed that he observe “complete rest.” Her visit would seem to be a positive sign that Francis is improving, and her remarks afterward appear to confirm this. In an official statement, Ms. Meloni said that the pope was “alert and responsive” and “has not lost his legendary sense of humor.”
Dr. Anna Lisa Bilotta, who works at the Salvator Mundi International Hospital but is not treating the pope, told America the fact that the pope’s doctors report “a slight improvement” in his inflammatory indices “suggests that the therapy is working,” but, she counseled, “we have to wait several days before a great improvement is evident.” She explained that antibiotics require 48 to 72 hours to take proper effect, but given the age of the pope and depending on the type of antibiotics he is being given, she said, “I think we have to wait until the end of the week before we can see if the therapy has worked.” She thinks the pope could be in the hospital for 20 days or more.
An informed Vatican source who wished to remain anonymous said the pope’s heart “is working well,” that “he is not on oxygen” and that Francis “sometimes sits in the armchair.”
Sources confirm “he is in good spirits” and is consoled and encouraged by the many messages he is receiving from people assuring him of their prayers and closeness at this difficult moment in his life. Children and parents from the nearby oncological ward have sent him messages and drawings, some of which the Vatican has made available to the media.
This is Francis’ fourth time in the Gemelli Hospital. His first visit was in July 2021 for an operation on the colon, and he was hospitalized then for 10 days. His second visit was in March 2023 for acute pneumonia, but he recovered from that in four days. The third stay in the hospital was in June 2023, when he had another operation related to his colon and stayed three days.
This article has been updated.
