Politics
BREAKING: Pope Francis Is In ‘Critical Condition,’ Vatican Says
Pope Francis, who has been hospitalized for more than a week, remains in critical condition on Sunday after he suffered an “asthmatic respiratory crisis” the previous day, according to a statement released by the Vatican.
The pope, who was hospitalized last week with a severe lung infection, also received blood transfusions after tests indicated a condition associated with anemia, the Vatican said in its most recent update. “This morning Pope Francis presented with an asthmatic respiratory crisis of prolonged magnitude, which also required the application of oxygen at high flows,” the statement reads.
While the ailing pontiff “continues to be alert and spent the day in an armchair” he is “in more pain than yesterday,” it added.
Earlier on Saturday, the Vatican announced that Francis would remain hospitalized following a pneumonia diagnosis and would be unable to deliver the weekly Angelus prayer for just the third time in his 12-year papacy. He initially checked in to a clinic in Rome on February 14 and underwent tests for a respiratory tract infection. He was later diagnosed with pneumonia on Thursday after CT scans revealed an infection in both lungs.
Church leaders and medical personnel initially seemed optimistic about the pope’s condition, stating that he was responding well to treatment after the diagnosis. “Is the pope out of danger? No. Both doors are open. Is he at risk of immediate death? No. The therapy needs time to work,” Sergio Alfieri, a surgeon who has previously operated on the pope, told reporters on Friday.
Pope Francis, 88, is particularly vulnerable to respiratory infections due to a severe bout of pneumonia that led to the removal of one of his lungs during his youth. He was hospitalized with bronchitis in 2023, and in recent months, has suffered two falls that left his arm in a sling.
Rome, Italy 06.01.2025 : Pope Francis Bergoglio speaks during the celebration of the Epiphany of the Lord Holy Mass on Altar of the Confession, St. Peter’s Basilica
Doctors have recommended “complete rest” for the pope, who has cancelled all public events for the foreseeable future. The current respiratory crisis marks the first time Francis has been hospitalized since his papacy began in 2013.
Currently, the greatest threat to the pope’s health comes from the threat of sepsis, a serious blood infection that can arise as a complication of pneumonia. As of Friday, there was no evidence of any sepsis, and Francis was responding to medication, his personal physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, said in an update. “He is not out of danger,” the doctor said. “So like all fragile patients I say they are always on the golden scale: In other words, it takes very little to become unbalanced.”
“Sepsis, with his respiratory problems and his age, would be really difficult to get out of,” Alfieri told a press conference Friday at Gemelli. “The English say ‘knock on wood,’ we say ‘touch iron.’ Everyone touch what they want,” he said as he tapped the microphone. “But this is the real risk in these cases: that these germs pass to the bloodstream.”
“He knows he’s in danger,” Alfieri added. “And he told us to relay that.”
Francis has continued to work during his hospitalization, particularly in the early days, when he held his daily phone call with Rev. Gabriel Romanelli and his assistant, Father Yusuf Asad, in Gaza City. They have remained in constant contact since the War in Gaza began following the October 7, 2023 attacks in southern Israel. Francis has also been signing off decisions in the clinic, Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni told CNN.
Until now, only the pontiff’s “closest collaborators” have visited him in the hospital, a Vatican spokesperson told reporters. On Wednesday, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited him for 20 minutes. “We joked as always. He hasn’t lost his proverbial sense of humor,” the prime minister said in a statement.
