Pope Francis marked the one-week milestone of his hospital stay on Friday, rising for breakfast as he battles pneumonia and a complex respiratory infection, the Vatican reported.
A late Thursday update revealed a "slight improvement" in his condition, with his heart functioning well.
However, doctors cautioned that it will take time to assess whether his treatments are effective, with recovery from pneumonia expected to take up to two weeks, given his fragile health.
The Vatican's Friday morning bulletin stated, "The night went well, and this morning Pope Francis got up and had breakfast."
The 88-year-old pontiff was hospitalized on Feb. 14 after bronchitis worsened and was later diagnosed with a complex respiratory infection involving bacteria, viruses, and pneumonia in both lungs, alongside asthmatic bronchitis. Doctors have prescribed "absolute rest."
On Thursday, some of Francis' cardinals began addressing the question circulating: whether Francis might resign if he becomes irreversibly sick and unable to carry on. Francis has said he would consider it after Pope Benedict XVI "opened the door" to papal retirements.
"Everything is possible," said Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, archbishop of Marseille, France.
Another cardinal, Gianfranco Ravasi, was asked if Francis might follow in the footsteps of Pope Benedict XVI and step down if he becomes too ill. Benedict became the first pope in 600 years to retire when he concluded in 2013 that he didn’t have the physical strength to carry on the rigors of the globe-trotting papacy.
"There is no question that if he (Francis) was in a situation where his ability to have direct contact (with people) as he likes to do... was compromised, then I think he might decide to resign,” Ravasi was quoted as telling RTL 102.5 radio.
Francis confirmed in 2022 that shortly after being elected pontiff, he wrote a resignation letter in case medical problems impeded him from carrying out his duties. There is no provision in canon law for what to do if a pope becomes incapacitated.
But there is no indication Francis is in any way incapacitated or is considering stepping aside.
During his hospital stay, he has continued to work, including making bishop appointments.
Furthermore, after Benedict’s death, Francis made clear that he believes the papacy is for life.
Francis had an acute case of pneumonia in 2023 and is prone to respiratory infections in winter.
Doctors say pneumonia in such a fragile, elderly patient makes him particularly prone to complications, given the difficulty in expelling fluid from his lungs.
While his heart is strong, Francis isn’t a particularly healthy 88-year-old.
He is overweight, isn’t physically active, uses a wheelchair because of bad knees, had part of one lung removed as a young man, and has admitted to being a not-terribly-cooperative patient in the past.
Francis has had two longer hospital stays during his nearly 12-year pontificate.
He spent 10 days at Gemelli in 2021 when he had 33 centimeters (13 inches) of his colon removed. In 2023, he was admitted for nine days for surgery to remove intestinal scar tissue and repair an abdominal hernia.
