Despite being in the Gemelli hospital in Rome for the past ten days, Pope Francis remains in charge of the Catholic Church and its one billion followers worldwide. The Vatican provided a medical update on Sunday evening which said that despite its severity, the pope’s clinical condition has shown signs of improvement in laboratory tests.
The bulletin added that no new episodes of asthma-like respiratory distress had occurred and that the monitoring of his mild kidney insufficiency had not raised further concerns. Oxygen therapy continues to be administered through a canula but with slightly reduced flow and oxygen levels.
Work resumes
The Vatican also said that Pope Francis resumed some work in the afternoon including calling a parish in Gaza City that he has kept in touch with since the war there began.
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The pope had suffered a respiratory crisis on Saturday which required high flows of supplemental oxygen and blood transfusions. He is still considered to be in a critical condition due to a complex lung infection and the doctors maintain that his prognosis remains guarded. His age, frailty and the fact he had part of one lung removed when he was a younger man are all part of the underlying concerns, but doctors have warned earlier this week that the main threat he faces is sepsis. So far, they said, there are no sig
Pope Francis had been suffering from bronchitis for a week when he was admitted to the hospital on February 14th as the situation had taken a turn for the worse.
Doctors soon diagnosed pneumonia in both lungs and said he was being treated with a combination of cortisone and antibiotics.
On Sunday evening, the Vatican’s top priest, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, led the faithful in a night-time recitation of the Rosary prayer in Saint Peter’s Square. Twenty-seven cardinals were present for the prayer.
“For 2,000 years the Christian people have prayed for the pope when he was in danger or sick,” the cardinal said.
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Hospitalisation continues
Meanwhile the faithful all over the world are praying for the pope’s health to improve and for him to be able to return to his work at the Vatican. Messages wishing him well and a speedy recovery have been pouring in and doctors have warned that even when he does return to his duties at the Vatican doctors will continue to be monitor him very carefully.
Instead of his Angelus prayer on Sunday, which was cancelled, Pope Francis issued a brief note saying: "I am confidently continuing my hospitalisation at the Gemelli Hospital, carrying on with the necessary treatment -- and rest is also part of the therapy!"
