On March 7, 2025, the Vatican reported Pope Francis’ condition as stable yet “complex” as the 88-year-old battles pneumonia at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, where he’s been since February 14.
A day after his frail, breathless audio message aired, the first since his admission, the Pope Francis Health saga gripped the faithful. “Guarded prognosis” persists despite no new crises since Monday’s respiratory scares.
Thursday’s audio, broadcast to St. Peter’s Square pilgrims, captured Francis in Spanish: “I thank you for your prayers… May God bless you.” Gasping between words, he sparked worry, Italian papers like Corriere della Sera called it “pained.”
The Holy See Press Office provided an update on the Pope’s health on Friday evening.https://t.co/Q6CHJvHYQS pic.twitter.com/A42SttgeI0
— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) March 7, 2025The Vatican countered online rumors of decline or death, with spokesman Matteo Bruni saying Francis insisted on the message. “He wanted his voice out there,” a source added, dismissing claims he couldn’t handle Italian.
Read: Pope Francis Stable in Hospital, No New Respiratory Crises Reported
The Pope Francis Health update shows a quiet Friday rest, prayer, and 20 minutes in the hospital chapel, plus light work and physiotherapy. Oxygen switches from nighttime masks to daytime cannulas. After a calm night, he woke past 8:00 AM (0700 GMT). No evening bulletin hit Friday, a shift from daily reports, with the next due Saturday. Pilgrims cheered the audio as a “good sign,” though Rome’s Claudia Bianchi, 50, found him “so tired.”
The Pope Francis Health watch is stable yet shaky, and a faint voice amid pneumonia stirs hope and dread.
