Pope Francis shows ‘good response to treatment’ and has ‘gradual and light improvement’

The hospitalized since February 14 due to breathing problems shows “a good response to treatment,” said on Saturday (8), in the last medical bulletin on the health of the 88 -year -old Argentine Jesuit. “The clinical condition of the Holy Father in recent days has remained stable and, consequently, shows a good response to treatment,” says the Holy See, attesting a “gradual and light improvement.”

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Pope Francis, hospitalized since February 14 with bilateral pneumonia, continues his treatment on Saturday (8), but it is “very likely” that he again loses Angelus on Sunday, when thousands of pilgrims are expected in Rome.

After spending a “quiet” night, the 88 -year -old Argentine Jesuit resumed “treatment and physiotherapy” on the tenth floor of Gemelli Hospital in Rome, according to official information from the Vatican. The spiritual leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics was admitted to the hospital 23 days ago for a bronchitis, which led to bilateral pneumonia.

Since then, he has not made any public appearance or any image of himself was released. But on Thursday night, Francis released a brief audio message in Spanish, in which, with a tired and hesitant voice, he thanked “from the bottom of the heart” to those who prayed for his recovery.

Prayers continue for their health around the world, since their hometown, Buenos Aires, where a march was held on Friday with the slogan “Love with Love If Payed”, to Tegucigalpa, passing through his hospital in northern Rome.

A dozen members of the Italian Civil Protection team, who participate in the jubilee of the volunteer world, also arrived at Gemelli gates. The event is expected to attract about 25,000 pilgrims to Rome over the weekend, according to the Vatican.

However, Francis will remain absent. Mass scheduled for Sunday will be presided by Cardinal Czech Michael Czerny and is “very likely” for the Pontiff to send a message written at Angelus, according to the Vatican press office.

The Sunday Prayer of Angelus is one of the traditional moments of meeting between the faithful and the Pope, who goes out at the window of the Pontifical Palace to deliver a message.

However, unlike his previous hospitalization in 2021, when he appeared on the balcony at the Gemelli clinic, he has not yet made any appearance in the current one.

“Reserved” prognosis

This hospitalization, the fourth and longest since 2021, raises concerns about previous problems that have weakened their health in recent years: colon and abdomen operations and difficulties to walk.

The situation also raises doubts about its ability to perform its duties, especially since canon law does not provide for any provision in case of a serious problem that may affect its lucidity.

The first Latin American Pope continues to suffer from a “complex” clinical condition in which he “is stable, but the prognosis remains reserved,” the Vatican said on Friday. A new medical report should be released on Saturday night.

Since your hospitalization, your condition has oscillated. The last relapse occurred on Monday, when he suffered “two episodes of acute respiratory impairment,” but no other crisis has been reported since then.

Since Monday, he wears an oxygen mask to help him breathe at night, which he exchanges for high-flow nasal cannulas during the day, a lighter support. Francisco alternates treatment with rest, prayer and a little work.

Doctors have not yet commented how long Jorge Bergoglio’s hospitalization will last, nor how long his convalescence can take. The Pope recently ruled out renouncing, as Bento XVI did in 2013.

update

*With information from AFP
Posted by Carolina Ferreira