Pope Francis still receiving oxygen therapy, will not read Sunday prayers: Vatican

Pope Francis is inactive receiving breathing assistance utilizing antithetic types of ventilation, Vatican sources said connected Friday. While the pope is "not moving down the halls" of Rome’s Gemelli, helium is seemingly capable to move. Additionally, Vatican sources accidental the pope is eating coagulated nutrient and does not request "assisted feeding."

Yesterday, the pope recorded a connection thanking those who had been praying for his recovery. The signaling was "clearly an effort for him," Vatican sources said, pointing retired that the sound from the pope’s oxygen instrumentality could beryllium heard successful the audio.

"We could perceive yesterday that helium was getting oxygen done the chemoreceptor during audio, intelligibly helium won't work Angelus," Vatican sources told Fox News.

Pope Francis waves to believers arsenic helium leaves the Cercle Cite aft a gathering with Luxembourg's premier curate during a four-day apostolic travel successful Luxembourg and Belgium successful Luxembourg metropolis connected Sept. 26, 2024.  (Simon Wohlfahrt/AFP/Getty)

POPE FRANCIS SHARES FIRST AUDIO MESSAGE SINCE HOSPITALIZATION: 'MAY GOD BLESS YOU'

As the pope enters his 4th week astatine Gemelli Hospital, his roadworthy to betterment remains unclear. The 88-year-old pontiff’s doctors look to beryllium hoping for much stableness successful his information earlier giving the nationalist different update. 

Dr. Claudio Santini, caput of interior medicine astatine Grassi Hospital, told Corriere della Sera that the deficiency of bulletins from the Vatican noting the pope’s information has improved is "not a affirmative sign."

"Let america instrumentality into relationship that the Pope astir apt suffers from a chronic respiratory illness that has precocious made him partially disabled. Now treble pneumonia has besides been added," Dr. Santini said.

A pistillate places a rosary astatine the statue of the precocious Pope John Paul II extracurricular Gemelli Hospital, wherever Pope Francis is admitted for treatment, successful Rome, Italy, Feb. 22, 2025.  (REUTERS/Vincenzo Livieri)

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The pope has had a agelong past of respiratory issues. When helium was conscionable 21 years old, Pope Francis had portion of his lung removed aft processing pleurisy, which is an inflammation of the membranes that cushion the lungs. Now, according to Vatican sources, helium is continuing therapy for bilateral pneumonia.

While oxygen therapy has been helping Pope Francis truthful far, Dr. Santini warns that the pontiff cannot trust connected it. The doc warns that therapies similar the ones the pope has received are "necessary," but they taxable the diligent to "considerable stress" and tin yet interaction different captious systems.

Catholics crossed the globe person been praying for Pope Francis, who was incapable to pb Ash Wednesday wide earlier this week due to the fact that of his wellness struggles. Instead, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis work the pope’s homily aloud astatine Rome’s Santa Sabrina Basilica.

Cardinal Angelo De Donatis speaks during the Ash Wednesday Mass, arsenic Pope Francis continues his hospitalization, astatine the Santa Sabina Basilica successful Rome, Italy, March 5, 2025.  (REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane)

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In his homily, the pope spoke of the value of the ashes and the enactment of receiving them.

"We bow our heads successful bid to person the ashes arsenic if to look astatine ourselves and to look wrong ourselves. Indeed, the ashes assistance to punctual america that our lives are fragile and insignificant: we are dust, from particulate we were created, and to particulate we shall return," the homily read, according to the Vatican.

The pope besides called for a "return to God with each of our hearts" successful his homily, urging Catholics to "place Him astatine the halfway of our lives."