Uncertainty surrounds Pope Francis ability to deliver the traditional Urbi et Orbi (To the City and to the World) blessing to tens of thousands of believers in St Peter’s Square. Due to Francis’ health issues, as he recovers from pneumonia, the Mass is expected to be celebrated by a...
Pope Francis
Pope Francis is planning to make his first public appearance on Sunday since he was hospitalized, the Vatican has said. Francis, who has been suffering from a series of respiratory illnesses including severe pneumonia for more than a month, is set to greet the crowd outside Rome’s Gemelli Hospital...
Pope Francis has marked the anniversary of his election as the head of the Catholic Church in hospital, a statement from the Vatican said on Thursday morning. Thursday marks 12 years since Francis was elected as the successor to the German pope Benedict XVI, born Joseph Ratzinger. The pope...
Pope Francis, who is suffering from severe pneumonia, is now receiving almost constant supplemental oxygen, either through a breathing mask or tubes, according to people familiar with his situation. The 88-year-old wears a mask over his mouth and nose at night to provide mechanical ventilation, while during the day...
Pope Francis slept well throughout the night, the Vatican said on Tuesday, after the pontiff suffered two episodes of respiratory insufficiency the evening before. “The Pope slept through the night and now continues to rest,” a statement said. Monday’s episodes resulted in two bronchoscopies, which removed “large secretions” of...
Pope Francis has spent a night in the hospital without any new complications, the Vatican said on Friday morning. “As in the previous days, the night was quiet, and the pope is now resting,” a spokesman said. The 88-year-old head of the Catholic Church has been in Rome’s Gemelli...
Pope Francis, who is suffering from a severe lung infection, spent a night in hospital without any additional complications, the Vatican said on Wednesday morning. The 88-year-old head of the Catholic Church had a “peaceful night” and is now resting, a spokesman said. The Argentinian native has been receiving...
The Holy See announced on Tuesday that Pope Francis “rested well” during his 11th night in the hospital in Rome. In spite of a slight improvement in his condition, the Vatican confirmed that the 88-year-old head of the Catholic Church remains in critical condition. Pope Francis was admitted to...
Pope Francis’s condition “continues to be critical”, the Vatican said Saturday, saying the 88-year-old was alert but had suffered a respiratory attack that required “high-flow oxygen”, and also blood transfusions. “At the moment the prognosis is reserved,” it said, as the head of the Catholic Church prepared to spend...
The clinical condition of Pope Francis, who is suffering from pneumonia, has improved slightly, the Vatican said late on Thursday. The 88-year-old pontiff also has no fever, a spokesman said. Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Friday last week. There is currently no indication when he might...
French Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline at a press conference in the Vatican on Thursday, urged the faithful to pray for Pope Francis. “He is tired. He is one of those people who has to be taken to hospital if we really want them to get better. Otherwise they never recover,”...
Pope Francis has once again been unable to deliver a public address due to ongoing bronchitis. During the weekly general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday, the 88-year-old pontiff, who leads 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, asked a priest to read his prepared statement on his behalf. He explained that...
Pope Francis sharply criticised U.S. President Donald Trump’s mass deportations of migrants in an open letter on Tuesday to U.S. Catholic bishops. The head of around 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide described the crackdown on irregular immigration initiated by Trump as a “major crisis” for the United States. A nation’s...
One day before the inauguration of Donald Trump as U.S. President, Pope Francis criticised his plans for an immigration crackdown when he returns to the White House on Monday. In an interview with Italian programme Che Tempo Che Fa on Nove aired on Sunday, the pope was asked about...
Pope Francis on Thursday expressed concern about “the increasingly concrete threat of a world war at a New Year’s reception for foreign ambassadors to the Holy See. The head of the Catholic Church called on diplomats to engage in dialogue, even with difficult interlocutors. Dialogue he said is the...
His Holiness, Pope Francis, on Wednesday, advocated debt forgiveness for poor countries to enable the internationally indebted nations come out of the woods and to develop. He made the call in his 2025 World Day of Peace message, annually marked on Jan. 1 to encourage peace in the world....
Marking the Holy Year of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis opened a Holy Door at a prison in Rome on Thursday, offering a message of hope and forgiveness to inmates. “Do not lose hope, that is the message I want to give you,” the 88-year-old pontiff told the prisoners...
Pope Francis on Wednesday called for “arms to be silenced” around the world in his Christmas address, appealing for peace in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan as he denounced the “extremely grave” humanitarian situation in Gaza. He used his traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (“to the city and the...
Pope Francis will open the Holy Year of the Catholic Church in St. Peter’s Basilica on Tuesday evening. In a solemn ceremony on Christmas Eve, the 88-year-old pontiff will open the Holy Door, which is otherwise walled up from the inside, and pass through it. The Catholic Church normally...