Italy Pneumonia: worries about the Pope increase
According to the Vatican, Pope Francis spent a quiet night following the new diagnosis of pneumonia. However, concerns about the 88-year-old head of the Catholic Church are growing. The faithful are now also coming to the Gemelli Hospital in western Rome, where Francis has been receiving treatment since Friday, to pray for him.
19.02.2025, 09:59
SDA
In the evening, the Vatican announced that a CT scan had revealed the "onset of bilateral pneumonia". This means that both lungs are affected. This was not previously mentioned. The press release also stated that the clinical picture was still "complex". The Pope is therefore suffering from an infection caused by various pathogens, which is making treatment more difficult overall.
Pneumonia is dangerous in old age
Pneumonia is considered dangerous in people of advanced age - also because there is a risk of other organs being affected. St. Francis has been treated with cortisone and now also with antibiotics for some time. The head of 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide has also suffered from respiratory problems several times in previous winters.
To make matters worse, Francis already had the upper part of his right lung removed as a young man in Argentina. He now had to cancel his first appointments before Christmas. His voice broke several times during appointments. He hardly ever left his residence in the Vatican, the Casa Santa Marta. After hesitating for some time, he then went to hospital last week on the advice of doctors.
TV cameras outside the hospital
According to a papal spokesman, the fifth night in hospital was also calm. Francis, who is in a special wing on the tenth floor of Gemelli Hospital, then got up and had breakfast. This has been reported every morning since the weekend. Numerous camera crews and photographers have also gathered outside the clinic in the west of Rome.
In the Italian media, the health of the Argentinian-born man - whose real name is Jorge Mario Bergoglio - has been the number one topic for days. Originally it had been said that the Pope might be able to return to the Vatican this Wednesday. In the meantime, there is no longer any talk of an imminent dismissal. Italian Cardinal Angelo Comastri told the broadcaster Rai about the pontiff's state of mind: "Francis is very calm. His helm is in the hands of the Lord."
Only Pope Leo XII was older
At the age of 88, Francis is now the second oldest pope in history. As the successor to Pope Benedict XVI, he has been in office since March 2013. According to Vatican records, only Pope Leo XIII was even older: the Italian died in 1903 at the age of 93. Francis' German predecessor, whose real name was Joseph Ratzinger, lived to be 95, but stepped down nine years before his death.
