Pope Francis fell asleep peacefully and had breakfast after two lungs diagnosed with pneumonia
The Vatican said Pope Francis slept well on Wednesday morning after being diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs and had breakfast on Wednesday morning.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Francis was at the Jegilly Hospital in Rome and the fifth night of tranquility.
“He had a quiet night, woke up and had breakfast,” the spokesman said.
The Vatican said on Tuesday that Francis was complicated by pictures.”
Vatican says Pope Francis has been diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia, Vatican says
Pope Francis held a weekly general audience on August 23, 2023 at the Vatican Pope Paul VI Hall. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
“Most bacterial infections that occur in the case of bronchodilation and asama membranous bronchitis and require treatment with antibiotic cortisone,” the Vatican said on Tuesday.
It continued: “The Holy Father received this afternoon …proving the onset of bilateral pneumonia and requires further pharmacological treatment.”
But the Vatican said Wednesday that the pope is still full of souls and thanks for his prayers for his recovery.
Francis, 88, was taken to the hospital in a “fair” state on Friday after a week of bronchitis worsened. On Monday, the hospital determined that he had most respiratory infections, meaning a mixture of viruses, bacteria and possibly other organisms colonized his respiratory tract.
Pope Francis is in a weekly audience in the Vatican on February 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
“A follow-up chest CT scan performed by the Holy Father this afternoon demonstrated the onset of bilateral pneumonia and needed further medication,” Bruni said.
Bronchitis may cause pneumonia, the deeper and more serious of the lung sac. Pneumonia may develop in one lung or part or the entire lung, and when both lungs are affected, pneumonia is often more severe because healthy lung tissue is not enough to compensate.
Treatment may vary, but can include treatment that provides oxygen through a nasal tube or mask, as well as the underlying cause of infection.
Francis does not consider using supplemental oxygen. He ate breakfast every day, read newspapers, and did some work in his ward.
Vatican says Pope Francis will stay in hospital
Pope Francis prayed in front of the idol of the Belarusian and Ukrainians during a general audience in Paul VI. Vatican City (Vatican), January 11, 2023. (Grzegorz Galazka/Archivio Grzegorz Galazka/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)
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The Vatican also said Francis did not have a fever, and Carmelo D’Asero, a specialist in infectious diseases and geriatric diseases in Rome, said that due to his severe infection, it is not necessarily a positive thing.
“High fever is a sign of an immune response to a pathogen,” D’Asero said. “Low fever and suffering from severe bronchial infection … are signs of a decrease in immune response, which makes us even more worried. Maybe. Maybe if he has a fever, that would better.”
The Vatican did not say how long the pope might stay in the hospital, but said that the treatment of such a “complex clinical situation” would require “enough” accommodation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
