Pope Francis, who has been hospitalized in Rome since Wednesday because of a respiratory infection, is doing better and “is able to work again,” the Vatican said on Thursday, easing concerns about the health of the head of the Catholic Church.
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The 86-year-old Pope’s health is “gradually improving and the planned treatments are continuing. This morning after breakfast he read some newspapers and went back to work,” Holy See spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement.
The Argentine Jesuit, who suffers from chronic health problems and is confined to a wheelchair because of knee pain, also gathered in the chapel of his private apartment, which he occupies on the 10th floor of Gemelli University Hospital.
This reassuring news comes amid concerns after conflicting information the Vatican distilled on Wednesday about the pope’s actual health condition, which made headlines in the international press on Thursday. “Pope Francis: the great fear,” headlined the Turin daily La Stampa on its website.
After speaking of “scheduled exams,” the Vatican spokesman finally announced on Wednesday night that he was suffering from a “respiratory infection” unrelated to Covid-19. The pope, who has been suffering from breathing difficulties in recent days, will have to undergo treatment for “a few days”.
Joe Biden, the second Catholic president in American history, urged attendees at a White House reception on Wednesday to say “one more prayer” for the pope.
The bishops of France, gathered in Lourdes (south-western France), tweeted on Thursday “invited the Catholic faithful to unite their prayers for #Pope Francis”. Their Italian colleagues took the same initiative on Wednesday.
According to hospital sources cited by Italian agency Ansa, the pope should be able to preside over Palm Sunday mass, but the Vatican has not commented on the matter.
Celebrations of Holy Week and Easter, the pinnacle of the Catholic world, are also on the Pope’s agenda and he is expected in Budapest at the end of April.
“Forgiveness”
“I hope he will recover very quickly and be able to celebrate Easter here in Saint-Pierre,” said Tina Montalbano, a 60-year-old Italian tourist guide who crossed the site on Thursday morning, confides to AFP.
“The fear is still there, but everything seems fine at the moment,” she added.
This sudden hospitalization surprised the world, especially since on Wednesday morning, as he does every week, Jorge Bergoglio took part in the general audience in St. Peter’s Square, where he appeared smiling and greeting the faithful from his “popemobile”.
Roberta Tait, a pilgrim from Trento (northern Italy), said she heard the news on social media after attending the hearing. “We are truly sorry and it is with great regret that we received the news.”
François, who has been in a wheelchair since May 2022 because of chronic knee pain, had already been hospitalized for ten days in July 2021 for major colon surgery at Gemelli Hospital.
He admitted retaining “after-effects” of the anesthetic, leading him to rule out knee surgery so far.
The pain from this joint, which in particular forced him to cancel several appointments in 2022 and postpone a trip to Africa, is at the heart of speculation about his possible renunciation.
The head of the Catholic Church has always left this possibility open. His predecessor Benedict XVI. resigned in 2013, surprising the world.
For his part, François blows hot and cold on this delicate subject.
After mentioning the possibility of “standing aside” in July, he had ruled in February that a pope’s “resignation” “should not become a fashion” and ensured that the hypothesis “is not on his agenda for the time being”. stand. .
Both in the Vatican and on his trips abroad, the Pope is under constant surveillance by a team of caretakers.
A precaution that is all the more necessary given that this octogenarian has a serious medical history: at 21, he almost died of pleurisy and suffered a partial ablation of one of his lungs.