Pope Francis, two weeks into hospital stay, continues slow recovery

28/2/2025 17:26

Pope Francis, who has been hospitalised for two weeks battling double pneumonia, has spent another peaceful night and is now resting, the Vatican said on Friday.



Francis, 88, was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on February 14 with what was originally described as a bronchitis and was later revealed to have developed into something more serious.



In a medical update on Thursday, the Vatican said the pontiff's condition had "continued to show improvement" but his prognosis remained guarded due to a complex clinical picture.



A Vatican officia noted that Thursday's statement was the second consecutive one that did not describe the pope's condition as "critical".





"Maybe we can say he has passed the most critical phase," said the official.



Cardinal Michael Czerny, head of the Vatican's human development office, said in an interview with Italy's La Stampa newspaper that Francis was getting better, albeit "slower than what we would like".