Pope Francis, Bishop of Rome, Sovereign of Vatican City, and head of the Catholic Church, has made a startling recovery from bilateral pneumonia, which has kept him in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital since Valentine’s Day.
Originally admitted for what seemed a fairly mild bout of bronchitis, the Holy Father’s condition quickly worsened, and less than a week later he was diagnosed with a respiratory tract infection and bilateral pneumonia, meaning pneumonia of both lungs.
On the morning of February 22, Francis suffered a “prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis,” which required medical intervention and put him in critical condition. The next day, The Vatican announced that in addition to double pneumonia, the 88-year-old pope is also in the initial stages of kidney failure. However, according to the press release, it is “mild” and “under control.”
Despite his health scares, Francis has reportedly remained in good spirits throughout his hospitalization and has continued to perform his papal duties in a limited capacity. The pope, who serves as the spiritual leader of more than 1.3 billion people (about 16% of the world population), has made daily video calls to parishes across the globe, including to the parish of Gaza in Palestine.
Many have speculated that Francis may resign in the wake of his seemingly worsening health, but Francis himself has said in the past that he intends to live out the remainder of his life as pope. When a pope dies, the church initiates a secretive selection process called “conclave.” During conclave, all cardinals (the highest non-papal rank in the Catholic clergy) are locked in the Sistine Chapel and are not permitted to leave or communicate with the outside world until they elect a new pope from amongst themselves. The last conclave occurred in 2013 after Pope Benedict XVI resigned, becoming the first to do so willingly since the 13th century. The College of Cardinals elected Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who took the papal name Francis (since 1555, every pope has adopted a papal name).
Francis is the first pope from the Americas and the first to be born or raised outside of Europe in more than 1200 years. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1936 as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Francis rose quickly through the ranks of the church, becoming well known for his humility and dedication to his spiritual duties. He was so popular in fact that he was nearly made pope in 2005 when he reportedly received the second highest amount of votes in conclave.
Since his ascension to the papacy, Francis has established a reputation for taking progressive stances on divisive social issues, pushing for the church to take a more active and hands-on approach to serving the people, and embracing scientific concepts such as the Big Bang and evolution, oftentimes acting counter to the church’s historical positions on such matters. In particular, the pope has expressed his support for members of the LGBTQ+ community on multiple occasions, going so far as to call for the legalization of same-sex marriage, a radical notion given the Church’s history. Francis has also, on numerous occasions, appointed women to managerial positions within the Church, many of which had never been held by women in the nearly 2000-year history of the Church.
On March 10, After many days of tense speculation, the Vatican declared the pope’s condition to be stable but “complex.” Since then, health officials have reported steady improvements in Francis’ condition. At time of writing, the pontiff is expected to be discharged from hospital in the coming days or weeks as his recovery progresses.
