A new report indicated that Pope Francis is pessimistic about his recovery after doctors diagnosed him with pneumonia in both lungs.
Days after being admitted to a hospital with severe bronchitis, the 88-year-old pope was diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs, according to NBC.
On Monday, the Vatican said the pope had a “polymicrobial infection” that presented a “complex clinical picture.”
Coming after years of declining health, a report from Politico said that the pope was in intense pain “and has privately expressed certainty he won’t make it this time.” The report was attributed to sources Politico did not name.
🚨 BREAKING NEWS:
The Vatican has announced that Pope Francis’ condition has worsened, now diagnosed with a polymicrobial respiratory tract infection. Recent tests reveal a complex clinical picture, requiring an extended hospital stay for the 88-year-old Pontiff in Rome.… pic.twitter.com/xXiS92wBeG
— Patrick Coffin (@CoffinMedia) February 17, 2025
The pope was brought to the hospital Friday after resisting being admitted.
Politico cited a source it did not name as saying Francis was told he could die if he did not go to a hospital.
The report noted that even if Francis survives this scare, the concept of who follows his papacy is moving to the fore.
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“He may not die now, but of course, he eventually will,” Politico quoted what it said was one Vatican official as remarking. “We all die — and he’s an 88-year-old man with lung problems.”
The pope’s polymicrobial infection grew out of asthmatic bronchitis and bronchiectasis, which takes place when airways widen, creating a mucus buildup that leaves the lungs more likely to become infected, according to The Washington Post.
The pope’s treatment includes antibiotic cortisone therapy, the Vatican said.
In 2021, the pope was hospitalized after having 13 inches of his colon removed. In March 2023, he was hospitalized for what the pope later said was pneumonia. In June 2023 he underwent abdominal surgery. The pope also suffered falls in which he was injured in December and January.
The Post report said Francis “had appeared bloated and weak in the days before his latest admission, often struggling to speak and passing to others tasks that involved his reading aloud.”
On Wednesday, the Vatican said, Francis “spent a peaceful night, woke up and had breakfast,” according to The New York Times.
In its report, Politico said Francis has been trying to pave the way for the changes he had made in the Roman Catholic Church to live after he dies.
As part of that, on Feb. 6 he ensured that Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re will remain as dean of the College of Cardinals, which will give him the lead role in selecting the next pope.
On Saturday, Francis named Sister Raffaella Petrini as the first woman governor of Vatican City.
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