Vatican says pope still receiving oxygen as hospitalisation for double pneumonia nears two-week mark.
Published On 24 Feb 2025
Pope Francis’s condition remains critical but has shown a “slight improvement”, the Vatican has said in its latest update on the 88-year-old pontiff’s health.
In a statement on Monday, the Vatican said “the clinical conditions of the Holy Father, in their critical nature, show a slight improvement”.
“Today there were no episodes of asthmatic respiratory attacks; some laboratory tests have improved,” it said, noting that Francis had worked in the afternoon after receiving the Eucharist in the morning.
The pope was still receiving oxygen, “although with slightly reduced flow and oxygen percentage”, the statement said.
Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on February 14 with breathing difficulties and his condition subsequently worsened.
He is battling pneumonia in both lungs as well as kidney issues in what has become the longest hospital stay of his nearly 12-year papacy.
Double pneumonia is a serious infection that can inflame and scar both lungs, making it difficult to breathe. The Vatican has described the pope’s infection as “complex” and said it was caus