Pope Francis remains in 'critical condition' but showing 'slight improvement', Vatican says

LAST UPDATE | 24 Feb

POPE FRANCIS REMAINS in a “critical condition” but is showing “slight improvement”, the Vatican has said. 

In a statement this evening, the Vatican said there have been “no new respiratory crises” and that “some lab tests have improved”.

And while it was announced yesterday that Francis has “mild renal failure”, it was announced this evening that this is “not cause for concern”.

Meanwhile, the Vatican noted that Francis called Gaza’s only Catholic parish to express his closeness – since October 9, 2023, two days after the bombings began in Gaza, Francis has been in daily contact with the Holy Family Church.

In a brief statement this morning, the Vatican said that the “night passed well, the pope slept and is resting”.

A Vatican source said Francis “woke up and is continuing his treatment”.

He was “in a good mood”, “can get out of bed”, “is not in pain” and was eating “normally”, the source said.

The 88-year-old pontiff has now spent 11 days in Rome’s Gemelli hospital, the longest hospitalisation of his papacy. He was admitted to the hospital on 14 February with breathing difficulties.

He was initially diagnosed with bronchitis, but this developed into pneumonia in both lungs, and on Saturday night, the Vatican said for the first time that his condition was critical.

Yesterday, it said he continues to receive “high-flow” oxygen through a nasal cannula, and blood tests demonstrated an “initial, mild, renal insufficiency, which is currently under control”.

Francis is alert but “the complexity of the clinical picture, and the need to wait for the pharmacological treatments to have some effect, mean that the prognosis remains reserved”, it said.

The Vatican also said that Francis attended Mass yesterday morning at the apartment on the 10th floor of the hospital building “together with those who are caring for him” during his hospital stay.

People praying for Pope Francis in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome last night. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Well-wishers have been gathering outside the Gemelli hospital to pray, with some leaving candles, balloons and flowers outside. 

The Vatican is to hold an evening rosary for the pope in St Peter’s Square at 9pm local time tonight. 

The Vatican has said that “starting this evening, the Cardinals residing in Rome, along with all collaborators of the Roman Curia and the Diocese of Rome, will gather in St. Peter’s Square at 9:00 PM to recite the Holy Rosary for the health of the Holy Father”.

Speaking this morning, Tánaiste Simon Harris extended his best wishes to the pontiff. 

Tánaiste sends prayers

“I know I join with many, many people right across our country in sending our prayers and our thoughts to the pope at this very difficult time in relation to his own health,” Harris said. 

“Pope Francis has been and is an incredible leader of the Catholic Church globally, and also he has been a really good humanitarian. He’s been someone who has always spoke up for peace, for inclusion and for a range of humanitarian causes.

“We all think of the Pope at this time, and I know many people send their prayers for his health at this very critical moment.”

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Abele Donati, head of the anaesthesia and intensive care unit at the Marche University Hospital, told the Corriere della Sera daily that the renal failure “could signal the presence of sepsis in the early stages”.

“It is the body’s response to an ongoing infection, in this case of the two lungs”, he said.

Professor Sergio Alfieri, leading the medical team treating the pope at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, warned at a press conference on Friday that “the real risk in these cases is that the germs pass into the blood”, which could result in sepsis, a life-threatening condition.

Francis’s continued hospitalisation has sparked widespread concern, with Catholics around the world praying for his recovery.

“At this moment in history, one feels the need for his figure”, Jesuit theologian Antonio Spadaro, who is close to Francis, told the Repubblica daily.

There were “many people around the world, including those in positions of responsibility, who are genuinely concerned because they know that Francis is one of the few who is able to connect the dots in a world that seems to be split”, he said.

His illness has also fuelled speculation about whether he might step down.

He has always left the door open to following his predecessor, Benedict XVI, who in 2013 became the first pope since the Middle Ages to resign. But he has repeatedly said it was not the time.

With reporting from © AFP 2025