“The pope is not out of danger,” his doctors warned during a press conference Friday evening at Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome. Francis was admitted on Feb. 14 with a respiratory infection and faces a long recovery, they said.
One week after his hospitalization, the pope’s doctors took time to brief the many journalists gathered at Gemelli on the condition of the 88-year-old leader of the Catholic Church. “The pope knows he is in danger,” they admitted.
“Is he out of danger? No, he is not out of danger. But if you ask us, ‘Is he in imminent danger of death?’ The answer is ‘No,’” said Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the pope’s surgeon at Gemelli. For nearly 45 minutes, he and Dr. Luigi Carbone, the Vatican’s lead physician for the pope, answered reporters’ questions.
“To be clear: the pope is not on life support. As needed, when it helps, he [receives] a bit of oxygen, which assists him during asthma attacks,” the doctors said, emphasizing that the pope is breathing on his own and eating normally. On Friday morning, Francis prayed in the chapel of his hospital apartment, a sign that his condition is not critical.
Challenges in treating the pope
While acknowledging the pope’s “fragile” health due to a “chronic respiratory condition,” doctors said Francis wants to be transparent about his illness, even approving the release of daily health updates.
They described the infection as “serious, with many microbes” and confirmed the diagnosis of bilateral pneumonia earlier in the week. The pope’s limited mobility due to knee problems, combined with his age, complicates his recovery.
Finding the right treatment has been challenging. “It is not always easy to adjust therapies: to help him breathe, we give a bit of cortisone, but cortisone lowers immune defenses, raises blood sugar, and increases infection risks,” the doctors explained. In one week, the Vatican has announced two changes to the pope’s treatment, highlighting the difficulty of managing his care.
When asked about the greatest threats to Francis’ health, doctors cited the risk of sepsis, where “germs from the lungs’ airways enter the bloodstream.”
“With his respiratory condition and his age, this could be difficult to overcome,” they cautioned. However, they confirmed that the pope does not currently have sepsis. They also acknowledged that he is taking “a significant amount of medication” to aid his recovery.
Responding to questions about why the Vatican has not released any photos of Francis since his hospitalization, Dr. Alfieri defended the pope’s privacy. “Do we really want to see a picture of the pope in pajamas in the newspapers? Let’s respect his dignity. When he wants to be seen, he will appear—but dressed as a pope,” he said.
Limited visits, extended recovery
Addressing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s visit to the hospital on Wednesday, doctors said Francis remains in control of his schedule. However, they stressed that as a patient battling a polymicrobial infection and bilateral pneumonia, he cannot receive visitors without protection.
The pope’s hospital stay will last “at least all next week,” doctors said, but they did not speculate on how long he will ultimately remain at Gemelli. Dr. Alfieri confirmed Francis will stay as long as he requires hospital care.
Once discharged, his recovery will continue at the Vatican’s Santa Marta residence under the supervision of his nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti. “We do not believe it would be prudent for him to return quickly to Santa Marta because we know he will resume his usual schedule,” they said.
Pope Francis is known for his relentless pace, often scheduling numerous meetings despite medical advice. On the day of his hospitalization, Feb. 14, he had completed five appointments. “He’s a fake octogenarian,” Dr. Alfieri quipped.
Since Feb. 14, all of the pope’s engagements have been canceled. This weekend, he was scheduled to preside over the Jubilee of Deacons and ordain about 20 new deacons. The Vatican has yet to announce whether Francis will deliver his usual Sunday Angelus prayer. Last Sunday, he chose not to.