Pope hits three-week mark in hospital after giving world sign of his frailty
Francis offered a first public sign of how weak he is by recording an audio message that was broadcast in St Peter’s Square.
Pope Francis has hit the three-week mark in hospital for double pneumonia after giving the world a tangible indication of just how frail he is.
The Vatican said the 88-year-old pope had a good night’s rest and woke up on Friday morning shortly after 8am.
Doctors said they did not expect to give another medical update until Saturday, given his continued stability and absence of respiratory crises or other setbacks for several days now.
In it, Francis thanked the people for their prayers.
But his voice was barely discernible through his laboured breaths and he spoke in his native Spanish, perhaps because it came more easily to him than Italian.
“I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers for my health from the square, I accompany you from here,” he said to the hushed square.
“May God bless you and the Virgin protect you. Thank you.”
It was the first public sign of life from the pope since he entered Gemelli hospital on February 14, and put to rest right-wing conspiracy theories and rumours calling into question his true medical status.
The cardinal presiding over the prayer, Cardinal Angel Fernandez Artime, had told the crowd at the start of the service that he had “beautiful news, a beautiful gift” to share.
“Oh che bello,” marvelled one nun in the crowd. “Oh how beautiful”.
The 88-year-old pope has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man.
The Vatican has given twice-daily updates on Francis’ condition, but has distributed no photos or video of him since the morning of February 14, when he held a handful of audiences at the Vatican before being admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital for what was then just a bad case of bronchitis.
The infection progressed into a complex respiratory tract infection and double pneumonia that has side-lined Francis for the longest period of his 12-year papacy and raised questions about the future of his papacy.
The absence of any images of Francis in a country where the image and voice of the pontiff is a part of everyday life helped fuel dire conspiracy theories, primarily among right-wing critics of the pope, about Francis’ true fate.
Francis has issued written messages from the Gemelli, including some that seemed very much like him.
But even Vatican officials had been clamouring to hear his voice, saying the pope’s calls for peace are particularly needed at a time of such global conflict and war.
More than any pope before him, Francis has mastered the art of informal and direct communication, often recording cell phone videos for visitors, anything from a “Happy Birthday” for someone’s mother to a religious prayer for a particular church group.
Doctors on Thursday reported that Francis was in stable condition, with no new respiratory crises or fever.
He continued his respiratory and other physical therapy on Thursday, worked, rested and prayed from the 10th floor papal suite at Rome’s Gemelli hospital.
His prognosis remains guarded, meaning he is not out of danger.
The pope has been sleeping with a non-invasive mechanical mask to guarantee that his lungs expand properly overnight and help his recovery.
He has been transitioning to receiving high-flow oxygen with a nasal tube during the day.
