Vatican says Pope Francis is critical but stable with no new respiratory crises

Pope Francis in critical but stable condition, working from hospital, making major decisions, and receiving prayers for recovery.

Pope Francis was in critical but stable condition Tuesday (February 25, 2025) as he worked from the hospital while battling double pneumonia, and the Vatican announced some major governing decisions that suggest he is getting essential work done and looking ahead.

The Vatican’s evening update said the 88-year-old pope had had no new respiratory crises and that his blood parameters were stable. He underwent a follow-up CAT scan Tuesday (February 25, 2025) evening to check the lung infection, but no results were provided. Doctors said his prognosis remained guarded.

“In the morning, after receiving the Eucharist, he resumed work activities,” the Vatican statement said.

The Vatican’s Tuesday (February 25, 2025) noon bulletin contained a series of significant decisions Pope Francis had taken, most importantly that he had met on Monday (February 24, 2025) with Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, the Vatican “substitute” or chief of staff.

It was the first known time the pope had met with Parolin, who is essentially the Vatican Prime Minister, since his February 14 hospitalisation and the first outsider known to have called on Pope Francis since Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni visited February 19.

During the audience, Pope Francis approved decrees for two new saints and five people for beatification — the first step toward possible sainthood. Pope Francis also convened a consistory, or a formal meeting of cardinals, to set the dates for the future canonizations.

Pope Francis regularly approves decrees from the Vatican’s saint-making office when he is at the Vatican, albeit during audiences with the head of the office, not Parolin. A consistory is a necessary ceremonial step in that saint-making process, and it is normal that no date is given at first.