Pope Francis was reported to be in good spirits on Tuesday, a day after the Vatican indicated he was out of danger and could be discharged in the near future after almost one month in hospital with pneumonia.
The 88-year-old head of the world Catholic Church has been in Rome’s Gemelli hospital since February 14 with pneumonia in both lungs.
He has suffered several respiratory crises that sparked real fear for his life.
But after a week of steady improvements, the Holy See said on Monday his prognosis was no longer considered “reserved”, or uncertain, meaning his life is no longer at imminent risk.
The pope’s condition remains complex and he will require hospital treatment for “several more days”, it added — with the implication that after that, he could go home to the Vatican.
A Vatican source added later on Monday that Francis still had pneumonia but confirmed there was “no imminent danger” to his life.
On Tuesday, however, the same Vatican source denied reports that preparations were under way for Francis’s return to the Santa Marta residence, indicating his discharge was not imminent.
Up until Monday at least, the pope had been switching from the oxygen mask he uses nightly to a cannula — a plastic tube tucking into the nostrils — which delivers high-flow oxygen.
Francis missed the start of the Lent religious period last week but there are hopes he might be able to participate in celebrations for Easter, the holiest period in the Christian calendar, which culminates on April 20.
The Vatican source said on Tuesday that the pope’s spirits were “good”.
The press office said he had that morning prayed in the private chapel next to the papal suite on the 10th floor of the hospital, and that he had taken part remotely in spiritual exercises — prayers and meditation — in the Vatican. AFP
