Pope Francis, in hospital for pneumonia, alert and eating, Vatican says

Pope Francis battles pneumonia in hospital, showing slight improvement, alert and eating breakfast, Vatican confirms.

Pope Francis, spending his seventh day in hospital as he battles pneumonia, is alert and got out of bed to eat breakfast on Thursday (February 20, 2025) morning, the Vatican said.

The 88-year-old pontiff is undergoing treatment at Rome's Gemelli Hospital, where he was admitted on February 14 after struggling with breathing difficulties for several days.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a brief update that the Pope had slept well and had breakfast while seated in an armchair.

The Pope's condition was stable and he had shown "slight improvement" in results from recent blood tests, the Vatican said in its latest medical statement on Wednesday evening.

Pope Francis is suffering from double pneumonia, a serious infection that can inflame and scar both lungs and makes breathing more difficult.

The Vatican had said previously that the Pope had a polymicrobial infection, which occurs when two or more micro-organisms are involved, adding that he would stay in hospital as long as necessary to tackle a "complex clinical situation".

A Vatican official, who did not wish to be named because he was not authorised to speak about the Pope's condition, said on Thursday that Pope Francis was not on a ventilator and was breathing on his own.