ROME – Pope Francis continued to improve from double pneumonia Thursday, the Vatican said, working from his hospital room and going to his private chapel to pray, though doctors said he needs more days of “clinical stability” before they revise their guarded prognosis.
The 88-year-old pope, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, was able to begin alternating high-flow supplemental oxygen, delivered by a nasal tube, with a mask in a sign of his improved respiratory condition, the Vatican said in a late update.
For the second day in a row, doctors avoided saying Francis was in critical condition. But they said that given the complexity of his lung infection, “further days of clinical stability are needed” before they revise their prognosis and decide he is out of danger.
Francis has been in Rome’s Gemelli hospital since Feb. 14 after a bout of bronchitis worsened.
He has shown steady, albeit slight improvements since a respiratory crisis and kidney trouble over the weekend sparked fears for his life. The improvements, as he nears the two-week mark on Friday, beat back speculation of an imminent death, resignation or conclave and signaled that he was still very much in charge.
Sebastian Padron, an Argentine gelato maker who shares a special bond with Pope Francis, spoke about his personal connection to the pontiff. Padron, who once had the chance to visit the Pope at the Vatican with his family, remains hopeful for the Pope’s recovery. The two share a love of dulce de leche, Pope Francis’ favorite flavor of gelato, and Padron has proudly displayed a photo of his family’s visit to the Vatican at his gelato shop.
“I’ve built a close relationship with Pope Francis over his love for gelato, the Pope’s favorite flavor dulce de leche,” Padron shared. “Both are from Argentina. Padron once got to visit the Pope at the Vatican with his family, that picture hanging at his gelato shop.”
He continued to praise the Pope’s character, saying, “He’s a good person, and I’m hoping for his speedy recovery, just like so many others who care deeply about him.”
Upcoming calendar in question
Nevertheless, his near-term upcoming calendar of events was being changed: The Vatican cancelled a Holy Year audience scheduled for Saturday, and it remained to be seen if Francis would skip his Sunday noon blessing for the third week in a row. Longer term, Ash Wednesday loomed on the horizon March 5, the start of the church’s Lenten season leading up to Holy Week and Easter, which this year falls on April 20.
In past years, when Francis has battled bronchitis and influenza in winter, he has had to cut back his participation in Ash Wednesday and Holy Week events, which call for the pope to be outdoors in the cold leading services, participating in processions and presiding over prayers in the solemn period in which the faithful commemorate Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection.
Beyond that, Francis has a few major events coming up that he presumably would hope to keep if well enough. On April 27, he is due to canonize Carlo Acutis, considered to be the first millennial and digital-era saint. The Vatican considers the Italian teenager, who died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15, as an inspiring role model for today's young Catholics.
Another important appointment is the May 24 commemoration of the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea, Christianity’s first ecumenical council. The spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Patriarch Bartholomew I, has invited Francis to join him in what is today’s Iznik, Turkey to commemorate the anniversary, which he has called an important sign of reconciliation between the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Before he got sick, Francis said he hoped to go, though the Vatican hasn’t confirmed the trip.
The Vatican is waiting to see how Francis progresses before making further decisions regarding his participation in the upcoming Lenten season events.
“We don’t know yet what the Pope’s role will be in all of that,” said Local 10′s Jenise Fernandez, who reported live from Vatican City. “We don’t know if events will continue to be canceled or maybe they’ll have another cardinal step in his place. Of course, all of this a bit premature. They have to see how he is doing this evening to see when he will get out of the hospital and potentially continue his duties as pontiff.”
Prayers nevertheless continue
Prayers for his heath continued to pour in from near and far, with a group of Mexican pilgrims in Rome for the Holy Year taking a detour to pray for Francis outside the Gemelli hospital.
Lili Iparea Fernandez, from La Cruz, Mexico, had come to Rome with plans to attend Francis' Wednesday general audience this week, but it was cancelled.
“However, we firmly believe that the pope will recover because he is a very strong man,” she said Thursday outside Gemelli. “So I invite everyone to believe firmly, with certainty, with confidence, with hope that the pope is going to be well.”
The dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, presided Wednesday night over what has now become a nightly appointment in St. Peter’s Square, the 9 p.m. Rosary prayer.
As is now popularly known thanks to the Oscar-nominated film “Conclave,” the 91-year-old Re would have a key role in any papal death or conclave, called to preside over the funeral and organize the secret balloting in the Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope. Francis recently extended Re’s term, keeping him on in the important job rather than naming someone new.
But on Wednesday night, Re was merely one of the Catholic Church’s most senior cardinals, an important point of reference for the men who lead the church, praying for Francis’ speedy recovery.
Francis keeps governing while being treated
By now a certain rhythm appears to have emerged from the Vatican’s updates: The pope receives treatments in the morning, including respiratory physiotherapy, and resumes work in the afternoon from his hospital room.
The Vatican said Wednesday that he had appointed four new bishops and approved the creation of a new fundraising initiative to encourage donations to the Holy See, which has been enduring a financial crisis for years.
Francis likely approved the bishop appointments a while back and the new norms for the fundraising entity were approved Feb. 11, before he was hospitalized. But the announcements made them official and suggested Francis was still very much in charge and governing.
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