Pope with pneumonia: Vatican: Pope is doing a little better

After more than three weeks in the hospital, Pope Francis is a little better, according to official information. “The clinical condition of the Holy Father has remained stable in the past few days and thus shows a good response to the therapy,” said the Vatican in a medical bulletin in the evening. Consequently, a “gradual, slight improvement”.

The 88-year-old suffers from severe pneumonia that has covered both lungs. The head of the Catholic Church in the Gemelli Clinic in Rome has been treated since mid-February. Francis had misfortune acute breathing shortage several times. Therefore, he had to be mechanically ventilated over a mask that covered the nose and mouth. He also received additional oxygen from a hose in his nose.

Sunday prayer on Petersplatz falls out again

With a forecast for the further course, the doctors continued. In the past, too, there was already an improvement in Bulletins, but this was followed by setbacks again. Francis has not been shown to the public since he was admitted to the hospital. However, he thanked an audio message for the many prayers. His voice looked very weak.

The Sunday prayer in front of tens of thousands of believers on St. Peter’s Square for the fourth time in a row. Francis has been head of 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide since March 2013. On Thursday it was exactly twelve years ago that he was the successor to the German Pope Benedict XVI. was chosen. At the age of 88, the Argentine native is now the second oldest pontiff in the history of the Catholic Church.