Pope Francis is showing 'slight' improvement: 'He has not suffered a respiratory crisis and can get up,' says the Vatican

Pope Francis' health condition is the same as last night, he has not suffered any further respiratory crises , he is continuing treatment and is able to get up, Vatican sources reported on Tuesday, February 25, on the twelfth day of hospitalization at the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome for bilateral pneumonia.

They specified that the Pope, as detailed in medical reports, has not taken painkillers. Previously, the Vatican reported that Francis had rested well all night, after the latest medical report reported that he had experienced a “slight improvement” and that the kidney failure detected in him “is not worrying.”

" He woke up after having slept well all night and is continuing with his usual therapy of these days," added the sources, so "he has not had any other respiratory crisis."

The medical report on Monday said that “the Holy Father’s clinical condition, in critical condition , is showing slight improvement” and that there had been no episodes of asthmatic respiratory crises, and that “some laboratory tests have improved.”

Also, the control of the "mild" renal failure detected the day before “is not a cause for concern.”

The Pope continues with oxygen therapy, but with flows at a "slightly reduced" percentage compared to previous days.

Given the complexity of the patient's clinical picture and as a precaution, doctors still prefer to keep the prognosis reserved.

Francisco completed his 12th day of hospitalization today, the longest since his colon surgery in 2021.

Meanwhile, in St. Peter's Square , a rosary for the Pope's health will be recited again, as was done last night, led by the prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, and the initiative will continue every day for the time being.

Pope Francis has been well enough to meet with the Vatican's secretary of state and approve new decrees on sainthood, calling for a formal meeting to set dates for the canonizations, the Vatican said.

The audience , which took place the day before, indicates that the machinery of the Holy See continues to function and is looking toward the future, even though the 88-year-old pontiff is hospitalized and doctors warn that his prognosis is guarded.

The Vatican bulletin announced that the Pope approved decrees for the beatification of five people and the canonization of two others during the meeting with Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, the so-called "substitute" or chief of staff of the Vatican.

It is the first known meeting between Francis and Parolin , who is essentially the Vatican's prime minister, since his hospitalization on February 14.

In a statement, the Holy See said that during the audience, the pontiff had “decided to call a consistory on future canonizations.”

Such meetings and decisions are common when he is in the Vatican. The pope regularly approves decrees from the canonization office, albeit in audiences with the head of that office, not with Parolin. But the vision of the future provided by the convening of the consistory was significant given his illness.

The only other visitor known to have been received by the priest, beyond his secretaries and personal doctor, was from the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, who came on February 19.

In a later statement, the Vatican announced that Francis also named several new bishops for Brazil, a new archbishop for Vancouver and amended the law of Vatican City State to create a new hierarchy.

*With information from AP