Dhe press office of the Holy See was still spreading the version of allegedly “pre-planned examinations” in the hospital on Wednesday afternoon, when the picture of a photographer from the AFP news agency of Pope Francis with a pain-contorted face went around the world. The photo, which was on the front pages of most Italian newspapers on Thursday, shows the Pope almost having to be caught as he climbs into the Popemobile, supported by a bodyguard, at the end of the general audience in St. Peter’s Square. The Pope’s facial features suggest severe pain or acute discomfort.
Previously, photos and video recordings had shown an apparently good-humoured Pope driving the popemobile across St. Peter’s Square and talking to the faithful and dignitaries during the general audience. But even then, Francis seemed to be troubled by the vibrations while driving over the uneven pavement of St. Peter’s Square.
On Thursday morning, the “Corriere della Sera” reported, citing medical staff in the clinic, that Francis had been diagnosed with pneumonia. He had a quiet night, was “tired but awake”. After severe pneumonia at the age of 21, part of the right lung of the 86-year-old Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires was surgically removed.
Already several treatments at the Gemelli Clinic
According to consistent media reports, immediately after the end of the weekly general audience, the pope was driven to the “Agostino Gemelli” polyclinic in north-west Rome on the advice of his personal medical supervisor, the nurse Massimiliano Strappetti. The Pope was apparently not transported lying down in an ambulance, but in a minibus with medical equipment.
The Gemelli Clinic belongs to the Pontifical University of Santa Croce and has a wing on the tenth floor with enlarged rooms known as the “Pope’s Rooms”. In these rooms, the Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. treated and cared for during various hospital stays. In the courtyard of the hospital there is a large statue of John Paul II.
Journalists outside the Gemelli Clinic in Rome on Thursday
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Image: Reuters
Francis has also been treated several times as an inpatient in the clinic. In July 2021, a 33 centimeter long piece of the colon was removed in an operation lasting several hours at the Gemelli Clinic. It was said at the time that no carcinogenic cells were found in a histological examination. During his convalescence in hospital, Pope Francis celebrated the Angelus prayer from the balcony of his sickroom. In a recent interview, he indicated that he was having problems with his intestines again. For more than a year he has also suffered from a severe knee problem, which usually forces him into a wheelchair. Francis has so far refused a knee operation – as was heard in the Vatican, he had not tolerated the anesthetic during the operation on the intestine.
Difficulty breathing and chest pain
As Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni announced on Wednesday evening, Pope Francis will have to spend “a few days” in the Gemelli Clinic for inpatient treatment of a respiratory infection. All of the Pope’s appointments on Thursday and Friday had been canceled – allegedly to have enough time for the further investigations that had already been planned. After the first tests, the respiratory disease was diagnosed, but infection with the Covid 19 virus could not be proven.
What treatment the doctors decided on was not disclosed. The press office initially did not comment on media reports that the Pope not only had difficulty breathing at the end of the general audience, but also complained of severe pain in the left side of his chest. Apparently, cardiological examinations were also carried out after admission to the clinic, and there were no worrying findings, it said. Journalists and camera teams had already gathered in front of the clinic on Wednesday afternoon, but could do little more than direct their eyes and lenses to the illuminated windows on the tenth floor.
On Thursday morning it was unclear whether Francis would be able to celebrate Palm Sunday on April 2nd and then Holy Week and Easter Sunday – the most important days in the Catholic church year – as planned in the Vatican. Vatican spokesman Bruni said the Pope was “touched by the many messages he has received” and “grateful for the closeness and prayer” of numerous believers. President Joe Biden, who is a Catholic himself, called for prayers for Francis at a reception in the White House on Wednesday evening after Washington local time. The Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, asked the faithful via Twitter for prayers for a “speedy recovery” of the Holy Father.