Pope's condition stable; tests show some improvement

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis’ doctors described his condition as “stable” late Feb. 19 even though “blood tests, evaluated by the medical staff, show a slight improvement, particularly in the inflammatory markers,” which are used to monitor infections, a Vatican medical bulletin said.

As further proof that the pope was stable, the Vatican said the pope had had a 20-minute private meeting at Rome’s Gemelli hospital with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

The prime minister had announced her afternoon visit several hours before the Vatican did.

“I am very happy to have found him alert and responsive,” Meloni said in the communique issued by her office. “We joked as always. He has not lost his proverbial sense of humor.”

The Vatican medical bulletin Feb. 18 had said that a CT scan revealed the onset of double pneumonia, adding that the pope’s history of lung problems and repeated bouts of bronchitis have resulted in “bronchiectasis,” a widening of the airways that makes a person more susceptible to infection, and “asthmatic bronchitis” which makes “therapeutic treatment more complex.”

Still, Pope Francis was reportedly getting out of bed each day, reading and doing some work. Although the doctors’ orders for “complete rest” meant he generally was not receiving visitors, his secretaries were at the hospital with him.

Most evenings at 7 p.m. he was making his regular phone call to Holy Family Parish in Gaza, where the priests and sisters on staff are giving shelter to hundreds of people.

A source, who was not authorized to give details of the pope’s medical condition, said the pope’s heart is “holding up well” and that he has not needed a ventilator, oxygen mask or CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine.

The source also confirmed that a couple of days before Pope Francis agreed to be hospitalized, he had gone to Rome’s Gemelli Isola Hospital for tests. He has been an inpatient at the main Gemelli hospital since Feb. 14.

Two Masses are celebrated each day in the St. John Paul II Chapel on the first floor of the main Gemelli hospital. Obviously, prayers are always offered for the current pope, particularly when he is a patient there.

But the Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported that special prayers were added Feb. 19 by Father Nunzio Currao, the hospital chaplain, who prayed that the Lord would watch over the pope and strengthen him so that he could return to leading the church “with his wisdom and love.”

The priest added that he prayed God would heal the pope “soon, in human terms.”

This story was updated at 2 p.m.