Pope Francis shows ‘gradual, slight improvement,’ doctors say
Although
Pope Francis is in Rome's Gemelli hospital, pilgrims taking part in the
Jubilee of the World of Volunteering make their way to the Holy Door of
St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, praying and singing along the way
March 8, 2025. (CNS photo/Cindy Wooden)Pope Francis’ clinical condition “has remained stable” in recent days and today “has registered a gradual, slight improvement,” according to the latest medical update released by the Vatican in the evening on March 8.
“The Holy Father’s clinical condition over the last few days has remained stable and, consequently, shows a good response to the therapies. There is therefore a gradual, mild improvement,” the report said.
It stated that the pope continues to not have a fever and that the gas exchanges—where oxygen is added to the blood and carbon dioxide is removed—“have improved.” It reported that the blood tests, namely “the blood chemistry and blood count tests,” are stable.
Nevertheless, his doctors have “prudently” retained a guarded prognosis “In order to monitor these initial improvements also in the coming days.”
The Vatican report added that “after receiving the Eucharist, the Holy Father prayed in the chapel of the private apartment,” on the tenth floor of the Gemelli Hospital, “while in the afternoon he alternated between rest and work activities.”
An informed Vatican source said the doctors have noted “a slight and continuous improvement,” because of the extended period of stability over these past days, the absence of fever and the results of the blood tests. However, given his general condition, they prefer to wait for further confirmation of the improvement before lifting the guarded prognosis.
He underlined the fact that “for the first time, the medical report states that the pope is responding well to the therapy” and remarked, “this is clearly positive.”
The Vatican said that like in the past two days the pope used the nasal tubes for receiving high-flow oxygen during the day, and will resume receiving it by non-invasive mechanical ventilation, wearing a mask over his nose and mouth this 24th night in hospital.
The pope’s doctors may decide to not issue a medical report on Sunday, given the pope’s stable situation.
Dr. Anna Lisa Bilotta, who works in the Salvator Mundi International Hospital in Rome and is not treating the pope, told America that today’s medical update from Gemelli Hospital, reaffirms that the pope’s situation is “stable” as it has been for many days, and based on the blood tests and improved oxygen levels, indicates that his breathing is a little better. “That is a good sign,” she said.
Dr. Bilotta noted that his doctors say he is responding positively to therapy and report “a gradual, slight improvement.” But, she remarked, the pope’s doctors “do not specify much in the medical update.” They say that the pope is “breathing better, but do not say if this is with or without the mask, or nasal tubes. They do not let us understand how the situation is evolving. They are cautious about giving specifics. So it is difficult to understand well.” She said “it is good” that they see “a gradual, slight improvement” but “given the complexity of his situation, his poly-pathologies and his age, we have to wait before singing victory.”
Pope Francis’ brief audio message of thanks, a mere 29 words delivered in Spanish, on the evening of March 6, brought immense joy, even relief, to the hearts of Catholics and many other believers across the world.
“It was a surprise, a very beautiful surprise. I felt it as the wish of a father who is concerned to reassure his children, to be with them, to thank them for what they are doing for him through their prayers. I would describe it as a caress to people, a gesture of tenderness that says yet again that the pope is close to his people,” the Italian cardinal, Angelo De Donatis, the Major Penitentiary of the Catholic Church, told La Repubblica.
Recalling the pope’s feeble voice on that occasion, the cardinal said, “That sensation of fatigue [in the pope’s voice] that one felt was the most beautiful thing of the message. To not be afraid of showing one’s own weakness, one’s illness, to let prevail the desire to address the people who are worried about you.”
Many people across the globe are anxious and concerned about the pope, and praying for his recovery, including many Muslims in Morocco, Cardinal Cristobal López, the archbishop of Rabat, told Avvenire, the Italian Catholic daily. He recalled that six years ago Francis visited Morocco, a country where 99 percent of its 37 million citizens are Muslim, while Christians total 40,000, including 30,000 Catholics. People in Morocco “feel great sadness” that Francis is in hospital, “he made friends with them” during his visit, “and now they are praying for him” at this time when the Muslim month of Ramadan and the Christian season of Lent coincide.
Since Pope Francis was hospitalized on Feb.14, he has delegated cardinals or archbishops to stand in for him and read his homilies at Jubilee and other major events where he had been scheduled to preside. He asked Cardinal Pietro Parolin, secretary of state, to preside at this morning’s Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Italian Movement for Life.
In his homily, signed from the Gemelli Hospital and dated March 5 , but surprisingly without any reference to his own condition, Francis hailed “the service” this movement provides to the church and society. He told them, “Together with concrete solidarity, lived with the approach of closeness and proximity to mothers in difficulty due to a difficult and unexpected pregnancy, you promote the culture of life in a broad sense.” He encouraged them “the social protection of motherhood and the acceptance of human life at every stage.”
Pope Francis went on to say in the homily,
In this half-century, while some ideological prejudices have diminished and sensitivity for the care of creation has grown among young people, unfortunately the culture of rejection has spread. Therefore, there is still, and more than ever, a need for people of all ages to concretely devote themselves to the service of human life, especially when it is at its most fragile and vulnerable; because it is sacred, created by God for a great and beautiful destiny; and because a just society is not built by eliminating unwanted unborn children, the elderly who are no longer independent, or the incurably ill.
He concluded by asking the Lord to bless them and by entrusting those involved in the movement and their efforts “to the intercession of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, spiritual president of the Movements for Life throughout the world” and asking them, “Do not forget to pray for me.”
For tomorrow, Sunday, March 9, Pope Francis has delegated Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, to read the homily he prepared for the Mass in St. Peter’s Square for the Jubilee of the World of Volunteering.
As on the previous two Sundays since his hospitalization, Pope Francis will send a written message for the noonday Angelus, which the Vatican will make public.
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