Gemeri Hospital Medical Director Dr. Sergio Alfieri announced that Pope Francis is expected to be discharged on Sunday on Saturday.
The Vatican also announced that the bishop would appear publicly on Sunday morning to celebrate the faithful from the hospital’s 10th floor suite. He then returns to the Vatican.
At a press conference, Alfieri said that the saint father had experienced “two very important episodes” during his hospitalization, where his life was at risk, but since then he had “slowly and progressive” improvements with pharmacological therapy, administration of high-flow oxygen and the administration of mechanical ventilation aids. But the Pope was never intubated and never lost consciousness, Alfieri said.
Alfieri said Saturday that Francis will need at least two months of rest and rehabilitation as he continues to return and recover in the Vatican. He said the doctors would advise the Pope not to meet large groups or activities in public during their recovery time.
Alfieri has been joined by the principal of the Vatican Health and Hygiene Office, Luigi Carbon, and the Pope spokesman Matteo Bruni, at the entrance to Rome’s Agostino Gemeri Policic. The Pope was hospitalized for 38 days and is battling life-threatening cases of pneumonia in both lungs, his doctors said.
Charles III to meet Pope Francis while visiting the Vatican next month
Pope Francis is waving from his popemovie after a weekly Angelus prayer at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican on October 20, 2024. (Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty)
The Pope “experienced acute respiratory failure due to multimicrobial infections,” Alfieri said.
Saturday evening briefing was the first direct update on the bishop’s status since February 21, a week after 88-year-old Francis was brought to Gemeri Hospital. He then experienced several breathing crises, which landed in a critical state, but has since become stable. Due to double pneumonia, Alfieri told reporters that the pope’s voice was damaged but will improve over time.
The doctor added that recovery is best to leave the hospital. It added that exposure to the virus is at risk of attenuating the state of the Holy Father. Alfieri said the Pope had no Covid-19, but he was exposed to various viruses.
From left, the Vatican’s Director of Health and Health Affairs, Roman spokesman Matteo Bruni, and surgeon Sergio Alfieri, on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at the entrance to Agostino Gemeri Polyclinic in Rome. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Francis released an audio message on March 6th, and the Vatican distributed his photos on March 16th, but Sunday’s Blessing will be his first live appearance since Francis was recognized on February 14th, as Francis became his longest hospitalization for the Pope of his 12 years. The Argentine Pope, suffering from chronic lung disease, is prone to respiratory problems in the winter, and as a young man, he removed a part of one lung.
When the Pope was recognized, doctors first diagnosed complex bacterial, viral and fungal respiratory infections and pneumonia in both lungs shortly thereafter.
Blood tests showed signs of anemia, low platelets and development of renal failure, but they were all resolved after two transfusions, according to authorities.
Surgeon Sergio Alfieri will talk to a journalist about Pope Francis on Saturday, March 22, 2025 at the entrance to the Agostino Gemeri Polyclinic in Rome. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
The most serious setback began on February 28th, when Francis experienced inhaled vomit with an acute cough and demanded that he use a non-invasive mechanical ventilation mask to assist with breathing. He was suffering from two more respiratory crises the following day, and doctors had to manually inhal the mucus. At that point he began sleeping in a ventilation mask at night to help his lungs clear the buildup of fluid.
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Over the past two weeks, Vatican news outlets reported that the Pope is stable, no longer requires the need to wear a ventilation mask at night, and rely on high scores of supplemental oxygen during the day.
Alfieri said the Pope doesn’t have double pneumonia anymore, but he still has some infections and must continue to cure.
Courteney Walsh and the Associated Press of Fox News contributed to this report.
