Pope Francis has been diagnosed with double pneumonia, with the 88-year-old head of the Roman Catholic Church reportedly still being “in good spirits” as he undergoes treatment.
Hospitalized last Friday due to a serious respiratory illness identified as bronchitis, Vatican News posted an update Tuesday evening from the Holy See Press Office stating that further testing at the Agostino Gemelli Hospital in Rome shows “the clinical condition of the Holy Father continue to present a complex picture.”
“A follow-up chest CT scan, to which the Holy Father was subjected this afternoon — prescribed by the Vatican medical team and the medical staff of the ‘A. Gemelli’ Polyclinic Foundation — revealed the onset of bilateral pneumonia, requiring additional pharmacological therapy,” stated the Press Office.
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The Holy See noted that, despite the ongoing health problems, “Pope Francis remains in good spirits” and had “received the Eucharist and, throughout the day, alternated between rest, prayer, and reading.”
“He expresses his gratitude for the support he feels at this time and kindly asks that prayers for him continue,” they added.
Two sources familiar with the matter told Politico in a report Monday that the pope “has privately expressed certainty he won’t make it this time” and “is rushing to tie up loose ends ahead of the battle to succeed him.”
After completing his scheduled meetings last Friday, Francis was hospitalized to deal with a reported bout with bronchitis that had been occurring for the past several days.
One of the sources cited by Politico claims that Francis initially resisted going to the hospital but was told he would be at risk of dying if he stayed in his room in the Vatican.
As a result, Pope Francis canceled a Saturday jubilee general audience and also an audience at an artists’ studio. A mass he was supposed to officiate was instead presided over by Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça.
On Monday, the Holy See released a statement noting that the tests carried out on Francis “are indicative of a complex clinical picture that will require appropriate hospitalization.”
“The results of the medical tests carried out over the past few days and today have shown a polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract, which has led to a further change in therapy,” the Holy See said in their earlier statement.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Francis was elected head of the Catholic Church in 2013, replacing Pope Benedict XVI and becoming the first pontiff from Latin America.
Francis, who had a part of one of his lungs removed when he was young due to a pulmonary infection, had been previously hospitalized for a respiratory illness back in 2023.
