The Vatican have this evening provided an update on the health of Pope Francis a day after he suffered multiple ‘respiratory crises.’
In their daily evening update on the health of the Pontiff, 88, the Holy Press Office have announced that Francis, who is recovering from double pneumonia, is stable, alert and without fever.
‘The clinical condition of the Holy Father today has remained stable,’ their statement read.
‘He has not experienced episodes of respiratory failure or bronchospasm. He has remained without a fever, always alert, cooperative with therapies, and oriented.
‘This morning he transitioned to high-flow oxygen therapy and underwent respiratory physiotherapy.
‘As scheduled, tonight he will resume non-invasive mechanical ventilation until tomorrow morning.
‘The prognosis remains guarded.’
‘During the day he alternated between spending time in prayer and at rest, and this morning he received the Eucharist.’
The Holy Press Office have this evening announced that Pope Francis, who is recovering from double pneumonia , is stable, alert and without fever (pictured 9 February 2025)
The Pope is currently enduring his eighteenth day recovering from double pneumonia at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital (pictured yesterday)
In a worrying update on Monday evening, the Pope had suffered two ‘respiratory crises’ caused by a significant amount of mucus accumulation in his lungs.
Following the episodes, doctors at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital decided to put the Pontiff back on mechanical ventilation to help his breathing.
But Pope Francis ‘slept well’ on his eighteenth night in hospital recovering from bronchitis which developed into double pneumonia.
The Argentinian ‘devoted his morning to rest and prayer’ earlier today, on a day where the Vatican announced it will be going ahead with its plans for Ash Wednesday this week, despite the 88-year-old’s poor health.
Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, the former vicar of Rome, has been designated to take Francis’s place this week on Ash Wednesday, which opens Lent with a traditional service and procession in Rome.
Senior Cardinals at the Vatican were also said to be discussing the possibility of the Pope stepping down from his position in the near future – something Pope Benedict XVI chose to do amid his declining condition in 2013.
A friend of the Pope, Elisabetta Pique, denied such a presumption, however, saying the Pope has no plans to resign.
Thousands continue to gather at St Peter’s Square in Rome everyday amid the Pontiff’s ongoing health struggles (pictured today)
The Vatican announced today that Cardinal Angelo De Donatis (pictured) will be leading Ash Wednesday this week (pictured 23 February 2025)
This evening’s Rosary Prayer for the health of Pope Francis will go ahead at 8pm GMT in Vatican City (pictured 3 March 2025)
‘He’s always been a fighter. He doesn’t give in under pressure The more pressure they put on him, the more likely he won’t give in,’ she said.
Pope Francis has made a return to X in recent days too, initially with two posts on Sunday, March 2.
The Pontiff thanked well-wishers across the globe for their prayers in one post, as well as wishing his best to Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan and Kyiv amid ongoing unrest.
While trying to maintain neutrality, the Pope has repeatedly called for peace between Ukraine and Russia as well as attempting to achieve a similar balancing act for Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.
It was announced last week that despite his serious illness, Francis has continued his daily contact with Gaza’s only Catholic church via phone call.
Well-wishers around the world continue to pray the Pope’s good health, with a daily vigil service going ahead at 8pm (GMT) each evening at St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City.
At every service, Cardinals have read the Rosary Prayer with thousands gathering in the square to pray and sing hymns together.
Crowds have also been congregating outside the ward where Francis is receiving treatment in Rome, placing flowers and praying around a statue of the late Pope John Paul II which has been illuminated while the current leader of the Catholic Church battles his illness.
Earlier today, a group of well-wishers from Pope Francis’s native Argentina were pictured praying for the Pontiff’s outside of the ward where he is being treated at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.
