Vatican: Pope Francis no longer in direct danger

According to the treating doctors, Pope Francis is no longer in direct danger after more than three weeks in the hospital. This emerges from a medical bulletin that the Vatican published in the evening. The 88-year-old head of the Catholic Church must remain in the Gemelli Hospital in Rome because of its pneumonia.

In the message, the doctors were satisfied with the course of the past few days. Literally it says: “The clinical condition of the Holy Father is still stable. The improvements recorded in the past few days have continued to strengthen themselves.” This was also shown by the blood tests. Francis also addresses drug therapy well.

Because of the complex clinical picture, however, it remains necessary to “continue the pharmacological therapy in a hospital for a few days”. The doctors did not give a possible date for discharge.

Most recently, Francis had two acute seizures of shortness of breath more than a week ago. That is why he was always mechanically ventilated – over a mask on the mouth and nose. He also received additional oxygen from a hose in his nose.

According to official information, however, he never received artificial ventilation. For a few days now, the Holy Stuhl had reported a gradual, slight improvement. Francis also had no fever. The Pope has not shown himself to the public since he was released to the hospital. However, he thanked an audio message for the many prayers. His voice looked very weak.

At the age of 88, the Argentine native is now the second oldest Pope in history. This Thursday it was twelve years ago that he was the successor to the German Pontifex Benedict XVI. was chosen as the head of the church. The Sunday prayer in front of tens of thousands of believers on St. Peter’s Square had to drop out for the fourth time in a row. There are 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide.