Pope Francis spent quiet night in hospital, Vatican says

By AFP 8 March 2025, 9:47 am

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Candles are lit at the statue of John Paul II outside the Gemelli University Hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized with pneumonia, in Rome on March 04, 2025. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)

Pope Francis spent a quiet night in hospital, the Vatican says, as the 88-year-old head of the Catholic Church battles pneumonia.

“The night was calm, the pope is resting”, it says in its brief morning update on the Argentine, who has been in a special papal suite at Rome’s Gemelli hospital since February 14.

The Argentine pontiff has suffered several respiratory crises since his admission, most recently on Monday, but for several days now the Vatican has described his condition as “stable.”

On Thursday Francis released an audio message — the first time the world has heard his voice since his admission to hospital — in which he thanked those praying for his recovery.

The pontiff sounded weak and breathless despite marking three weeks of treatment in hospital.

He was still in a “complex clinical condition” so “the prognosis remains guarded”, the Vatican said yesterday.