Pope Francis, who was admitted to the hospital last week, has pneumonia in both lungs, and his clinical condition is still “complex,” the Vatican announced Tuesday.
Francis was hospitalised at the Gemelli hospital in Rome on Friday with bronchitis after experiencing breathing problems, and the Holy See has cancelled his events until the end of the weekend.
“The laboratory tests, chest X-ray, and the Holy Father’s clinical condition continue to present a complex picture,” the Vatican stated in a statement issued on Tuesday, February 18, 2025.
It stated that a “polymicrobial infection” that has accumulated in addition to “bronchiectasis and asthmatic bronchitis, and which required the use of cortisone antibiotic therapy, makes treatment more complex.”
“The follow-up chest CT scan which the Holy Father underwent this afternoon… demonstrated the onset of bilateral pneumonia, which required additional drug therapy.
“Nevertheless, Pope Francis is in good spirits,” according to the statement.
According to the Vatican, Francis spent his fifth day in the hospital alternately resting, praying, and reading.
“He gives thanks for the closeness he feels at this time and asks, with a grateful heart, that we continue to pray for him,” the statement read.
Argentine Pope Francis, who has led the Catholic Church since 2013, was admitted to the hospital after struggling for several days to read his writings in public.
It is the latest in a long line of health concerns for the Jesuit, who has had hernia and colon surgery since 2021 and uses a wheelchair owing to knee trouble.
