Pope Francis still receiving oxygen therapy, will not read Sunday prayers: Vatican

Pope Francis is still receiving breathing assistance using different types of ventilation, Vatican sources said on Friday. While the pope is “not running down the halls” of Rome’s Gemelli, he is apparently able to move. Additionally, Vatican sources say the pope is eating solid food and does not need “assisted feeding.”

Yesterday, the pope recorded a message thanking those who had been praying for his recovery. The recording was “clearly an effort for him,” Vatican sources said, pointing out that the noise from the pope’s oxygen machine could be heard in the audio.

“We could hear yesterday that he was getting oxygen through the nose during audio, clearly he won’t read Angelus,” Vatican sources told Fox News.

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As the pope enters his fourth week at Gemelli Hospital, his road to recovery remains unclear. The 88-year-old pontiff’s doctors seem to be hoping for more stability in his condition before giving the public another update. 

Dr. Claudio Santini, head of internal medicine at Grassi Hospital, told Corriere della Sera that the lack of bulletins from the Vatican noting the pope’s condition has improved is “not a positive sign.”

“Let us take into account that the Pope probably suffers from a chronic respiratory disease that has recently made him partially disabled. Now double pneumonia has also been added,” Dr. Santini said.

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The pope has had a long history of respiratory issues. When he was just 21 years old, Pope Francis had part of his lung removed after developing pleurisy, which is an inflammation of the membranes that cushion the lungs. Now, according to Vatican sources, he is continuing therapy for bilateral pneumonia.

While oxygen therapy has been helping Pope Francis so far, Dr. Santini warns that the pontiff cannot rely on it. The doctor warns that therapies like the ones the pope has received are “necessary,” but they subject the patient to “considerable stress” and can eventually impact other vital systems.

Catholics across the globe have been praying for Pope Francis, who was unable to lead Ash Wednesday mass earlier this week because of his health struggles. Instead, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis read the pope’s homily aloud at Rome’s Santa Sabrina Basilica.

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In his homily, the pope spoke of the significance of the ashes and the act of receiving them.

“We bow our heads in order to receive the ashes as if to look at ourselves and to look within ourselves. Indeed, the ashes help to remind us that our lives are fragile and insignificant: we are dust, from dust we were created, and to dust we shall return,” the homily read, according to the Vatican.

The pope also called for a “return to God with all of our hearts” in his homily, urging Catholics to “place Him at the center of our lives.”