Pope Francis is said to breathe on his own after a diagnosis of bilateral pneumonia

Rome – Pope Francis spent a quiet night at a hospital in Rome – his fifth accepted bronchitis was accepted Pneumonia develops in both lungs. Tuesday’s bilateral pneumonia diagnosis is a worrying turn for any 88-year-old, but especially for Catholic church leaders who have long suffered from respiratory illness.

The Vatican said Pope Francis had a good rest, woke up, and had breakfast Wednesday morning. A source at the agency said the pope had no heart problems and was breathing without the help of a respirator. They said he sometimes sat in an armchair and he was understood to have been rested by strict orders from the medical team.

The Vatican said late Wednesday that the pope was in a stable condition and blood tests showed slight improvement, especially the markers of inflammation.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited Francis on Wednesday afternoon and the two talked privately for 20 minutes, the Vatican said. The closed assistant also brought him reviewed and signed documents.

Another source told CBS News that Francis had been on the phone and he also received notes from the blessing.

People have also been gathering outside the Gemelli Hospital in Rome to show their support, with many leaving messages and notes near the statue of former Pope John Paul II. The Vatican also shared a series of photos from Wednesday, showing some drawings and supporting notes of treatment at the pediatric oncology department in Gemelli, which have been sent to the Pope.

The pope has been on a very busy schedule, looking breathless at some public events earlier this month before being taken to the hospital on Friday for his first time Diagnosed with bronchitis.

The new diagnosis was confirmed in his two lungs on Tuesday, the Vatican said the second day of the Vatican, Pontiff's respiratory majority infection, and the test results “indicate a complex clinical condition that requires adequate hospital stays in hospitals. .”

The Vatican said on Tuesday that pneumonia requires additional medication. The Vatican said Francis discovered the disease after a CT scan of his chest Tuesday afternoon.

The Vatican has said that Francis thanked his supporters for “the intimacy of this moment” and he asked people to pray for him.

It was the fourth hospitalization of the pope since taking over as the Roman Catholic Church in 2013. Abdominal surgery In 2021, another procedure was followed in 2023 to repair scar tissue and abdominal hernia. He has been temporarily hospitalized for pneumonia Earlier that year.

Francis was removed after a lung infection in his native Argentina, a young man, which made him susceptible to respiratory illness.

The Vatican canceled the audience that Francis had originally scheduled for Saturday and announced that he would not celebrate Sunday's Mass at St. Peter's Basilica, either.

The Pope's continuous hospitalization is two weeks before the beginning of annual Christian obedience to Lent. The 40-day Lent phase begins on Wednesday, ASH, which begins on March 5 this year.

Just before Easter last year, Francis refused to attend the Good Friday parade at the Colosseum to protect his health, but the Pope later led thousands of believers Easter celebrations.