ROME – Stable Pope Francis was continuing his recovery from dual pneumonia on Sunday from the Vatican Secretary of State, but once again skipped the week’s noon blessing to avoid a brief public appearance from the hospital.
Instead, the Vatican distributed a message from the Pope, where he thanked the doctors the wealthy for their care and their prayers, and prayed again for peace in Ukraine and elsewhere.
“From here on, the war seems even more ridiculous,” Francis said in his message. He recently drafted it from Gemeri Hospital, the Vatican said. Francis said he lived in his hospitalization as an experience of deep solidarity with people suffering from illness everywhere.
“In my mind I feel the “blessing” hidden in my weakness. Because it is precisely at this very moment that we learn more to trust in the Lord,” Francis said in the text. “At the same time, I thank God for giving me the opportunity to share the body and mind of so many illnesses and suffering people.”
The sign refers to recovery
Francis marked a successive third weekend in a row that he had cancelled his Sunday appointment to convey Angelus’ prayers in person. If he had enough he could have done so from the hospital suite on the 10th floor of Jemeri Hospital.
However, many signs showed he was improving, especially after the breathing crisis on Friday afternoon.
“The night is quiet and the Pope is still resting,” the Vatican said in a Sunday update. Francis stood up, read Sunday’s papers and ate coffee and breakfast as he continued his treatment.
According to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni, Cardinal Pietro Parolin and his Chief of Staff Archbishop Edgar Pena Para Francis’ second visit since his February 14 hospitalization. There were no details of what was discussed, but a mere visit suggested that Francis’ condition was stable.
Saturday’s doctor reported that Francis was in a stable state and that he was not critical, and that he was able to take “long periods” of time from the non-invasive mechanical ventilation needed to recover after Friday’s respiratory crisis.
The 88-year-old Pope had a “good response” at gas exchange levels, even while removing his ventilator mask on Saturday, even while using only high-flow supplemental oxygen, the Vatican said.
He had no signs of fever or rising white blood cells. This shows his body is fighting a new infection.
The fact that Francis could only use high-flow oxygen for a long period of time without significantly affecting the oxygen levels in his blood was a sign that his respiratory function was improving.
However, the doctor was cautious and protected his prognosis. In other words, he was not out of danger. He was eating and drinking, continuing his respiratory physiotherapy and spent 20 minutes in his private chapel on Saturday, down the hall, the Vatican said.
The Pope, who removed a portion of one lung as a young man, suffered from lung disease and was found by Gemeri on February 14th, causing the bronchiitis match to worsen and transformed into complex pneumonia in both lungs.
The prayers continued to pour
Francis’ hospitalization marks the Holy Year by the Vatican, welcoming pilgrims all the way to Rome. Many people add pilgrimage destinations to their itineraries, so you can pray for Francis at Jemeri Hospital, which is about 20 minutes’ drive from the Vatican and about 20 minutes’ drive by rush hour or public transport.
Rev. Ricardo Humagali would have attended the prayer of Francis Angelus at St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, if he accompanied a group of young people from Milan to Rome for the Jubilee and delivered as usual. Instead, they went to Jemeri.
“It was good for us to be here to express the intimacy of these teenagers, especially to pray for him, to be close to our holy father to pray for this sick moment,” he said.
Cancer patient Antonino Cacas also arrived on Sunday from Milan in Gemeri for his own treatment, saying he had to undergo surgery in the next few days and had relied on Francis’ prayers.
“I’m glad the Pope has given me help,” he said. “I’m on the ninth (floor) and he’s on the 10th (floor). I want to see him and see him,” he said.
