VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis remains stable after almost four weeks in hospital with pneumonia, the Vatican said on Tuesday, declining to speculate on when he might go home, the day after doctors indicated he was no longer in danger.
The 88-year-old head of the world Catholic Church has been in Rome’s Gemelli hospital since February 14 with pneumonia in both lungs, suffering several respiratory crises that sparked real fear for his life.
But on Tuesday evening — a day after indicating that he was out of imminent danger — the Holy See said that the pope’s condition continued to be stable.
“It is clear that the situation remains stable... and with these slight improvements within a framework for doctors that remains complex,” the Vatican said.
On Monday, following a week of steady improvements in Francis’s condition, the Vatican said his prognosis was no longer considered “reserved,” or uncertain, meaning his life is no longer at imminent risk.
But his condition remained complex and he would require hospital treatment for “several more days,” it said on Monday — with the implication that afterwards, he could go home to the Vatican.
A Vatican source on Monday said that Francis still had pneumonia but confirmed there was “no imminent danger” to his life.
Despite the improving scenario, the Vatican on Tuesday said that it was still unknown when exactly Francis might be released from hospital.
The source denied reports that preparations were under way for Francis’s return to the Santa Marta residence.
Francis missed the start of the Lent religious period last week but there are hopes he might be able to participate in celebrations for Easter, the holiest period in the Christian calendar, which culminates on April 20.
Outside the Gemelli hospital, an employee of the Santa Marta, Simonetta Maronge, urged the pope to come home soon.
“May he return to Santa Marta soon. We love him deeply and Santa Marta is empty without him,” she told AFP.
The Vatican source said on Tuesday that the pope’s spirits were “good.”
The press office said he had that morning prayed in the private chapel next to the papal suite on the 10th floor of the hospital, and that he had taken part remotely in Vatican prayers and meditation.
“The improvements recorded in the previous days have been further consolidated, as confirmed by blood tests and clinical objectivity and the good response to pharmacological therapy,” the Vatican said in a statement on Monday evening.
“For these reasons, the doctors have decided today to lift their reserved prognosis,” it added, although the Vatican said Francis still would need “pharmacological treatment in a hospital setting for several more days.”
The pontiff has been doing some work off and on during his hospital stay, making calls and having occasional visitors, according to the Vatican.
Several of the children being treated in Rome’s Bambino Gesu hospital, which is also run by the Vatican, sent Francis messages and drawings offering other ideas for passing the time.
“Dear Pope, I suggest you get someone to give you a PlayStation,” young Alex wrote, according to the artwork released by Bambino Gesu.
Pilgrims visiting Rome for the 2025 Jubilee holy year celebrations have been praying every night for the pope, while special services have been held in churches around the world.
“We are praying for the pope, for his recovery and that he will soon be with us, safe and well, so he can bless us all,” Jose Ochoa, 69, from Mexico, told AFP at the Vatican.
Mimmo Laundando, an Italian pensioner praying outside the Gemelli hospital, said: “I am hopeful.”
Laundando added that he had always dreamt of being the pontiff’s chauffeur.
Pope Francis will on Thursday mark 12 years as leader of the world’s nearly 1.4 billion Catholics.
Despite his incipient recovery, his hospital stay — the longest and most serious of his papacy — has revived questions about his future.
The Jesuit pontiff has always held open the possibility of resigning like his predecessor, the German Benedict XVI, although he also insisted he has no intention of quitting.
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Pope ‘stable’, out of imminent danger as talk turns to return home
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Pope ‘stable’, out of imminent danger as talk turns to return home
- “It is clear that the situation remains stable... and with these slight improvements within a framework for doctors that remains complex,” the Vatican said
- A Vatican source on Monday said that Francis still had pneumonia but confirmed there was “no imminent danger” to his life
UK leader Starmer fights for his job as Mandelson-Epstein revelations spark a leadership crisis
LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s position hung by a thread on Monday as he tried to persuade his Labour Party’s lawmakers not to kick him out of his job after just a year and a half in office.
Starmer lost his chief of staff on Sunday and is rapidly shedding support from Labour legislators after revelations about the relationship between former British ambassador to Washington Peter Mandelson and the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Starmer is due to address Labour lawmakers behind closed doors later Monday in an attempt to rebuild some of his shattered authority.
The political storm stems from Starmer’s decision in 2024 to appoint Mandelson to Britain’s most important diplomatic post, despite knowing he had ties to Epstein.
Starmer fired Mandelson in September after emails were published showing that he maintained a friendship with Epstein after the late financier’s 2008 conviction for sex offenses involving a minor. Critics say Starmer should have known better than to appoint Mandelson, 72, a contentious figure whose career has been studded with scandals over money or ethics.
A new trove of Epstein files released in the United States has brought more details about the relationship, and new pressure on Starmer.
Starmer apologized last week for “having believed Mandelson’s lies.”
He promised to release documentation related to Mandelson’s appointment, which the government says will show that Mandelson misled officials about his ties to Epstein.
Police are investigating Mandelson for potential misconduct in public office over documents suggesting he passed sensitive government information to Epstein a decade and a half ago. The offense carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Mandelson has not been arrested or charged, and does not face any allegations of sexual misconduct.
Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, took the fall for the decision by quitting on Sunday, saying that “I advised the prime minister to make that appointment and I take full responsibility for that advice.”
McSweeney has been Starmer’s most important aide since he became Labour leader in 2020, and is considered a key architect of Labour’s landslide July 2024 election victory. But some in the party blame him for a series of missteps since then.
Some Labour officials hope that his departure will buy the prime minister time to rebuild trust with the party and the country. Senior lawmaker Emily Thornberry said McSweeney had become a “divisive figure” and his departure brought the opportunity for a reset.
She said Starmer is “a good leader in that he is strong and clear. I think that he needs to step up a bit more than he has.”
Others say McSweeney’s departure leaves Starmer weak and isolated.
Opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said Starmer “has made bad decision after bad decision” and “his position now is untenable.”
Since winning office, Starmer has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living. He pledged a return to honest government after 14 years of scandal-tarred Conservative rule, but has been beset by missteps and U-turns over welfare cuts and other unpopular policies.
Labour consistently lags behind the hard-right Reform UK party in opinion polls, and its failure to improve had sparked talk of a leadership challenge, even before the Mandelson revelations.
Under Britain’s parliamentary system, prime ministers can change without the need for a national election. If Starmer is challenged or resigns, it would trigger an election for the Labour leadership. The winner would become prime minister.
The Conservatives went through three prime ministers between national elections in 2019 and 2024. One, Liz Truss, lasted just 49 days in office.
Starmer was elected on a promise to end the political chaos that roiled the Conservatives’ final years in power. That proved easier said than done.
Labour lawmaker Clive Efford said Starmer’s critics should “be careful what you wish for.”
“I don’t think people took to the changes in prime minister when the Tories were in power,” he told the BBC. “It didn’t do them any good.”
Starmer lost his chief of staff on Sunday and is rapidly shedding support from Labour legislators after revelations about the relationship between former British ambassador to Washington Peter Mandelson and the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Starmer is due to address Labour lawmakers behind closed doors later Monday in an attempt to rebuild some of his shattered authority.
The political storm stems from Starmer’s decision in 2024 to appoint Mandelson to Britain’s most important diplomatic post, despite knowing he had ties to Epstein.
Starmer fired Mandelson in September after emails were published showing that he maintained a friendship with Epstein after the late financier’s 2008 conviction for sex offenses involving a minor. Critics say Starmer should have known better than to appoint Mandelson, 72, a contentious figure whose career has been studded with scandals over money or ethics.
A new trove of Epstein files released in the United States has brought more details about the relationship, and new pressure on Starmer.
Starmer apologized last week for “having believed Mandelson’s lies.”
He promised to release documentation related to Mandelson’s appointment, which the government says will show that Mandelson misled officials about his ties to Epstein.
Police are investigating Mandelson for potential misconduct in public office over documents suggesting he passed sensitive government information to Epstein a decade and a half ago. The offense carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Mandelson has not been arrested or charged, and does not face any allegations of sexual misconduct.
Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, took the fall for the decision by quitting on Sunday, saying that “I advised the prime minister to make that appointment and I take full responsibility for that advice.”
McSweeney has been Starmer’s most important aide since he became Labour leader in 2020, and is considered a key architect of Labour’s landslide July 2024 election victory. But some in the party blame him for a series of missteps since then.
Some Labour officials hope that his departure will buy the prime minister time to rebuild trust with the party and the country. Senior lawmaker Emily Thornberry said McSweeney had become a “divisive figure” and his departure brought the opportunity for a reset.
She said Starmer is “a good leader in that he is strong and clear. I think that he needs to step up a bit more than he has.”
Others say McSweeney’s departure leaves Starmer weak and isolated.
Opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said Starmer “has made bad decision after bad decision” and “his position now is untenable.”
Since winning office, Starmer has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living. He pledged a return to honest government after 14 years of scandal-tarred Conservative rule, but has been beset by missteps and U-turns over welfare cuts and other unpopular policies.
Labour consistently lags behind the hard-right Reform UK party in opinion polls, and its failure to improve had sparked talk of a leadership challenge, even before the Mandelson revelations.
Under Britain’s parliamentary system, prime ministers can change without the need for a national election. If Starmer is challenged or resigns, it would trigger an election for the Labour leadership. The winner would become prime minister.
The Conservatives went through three prime ministers between national elections in 2019 and 2024. One, Liz Truss, lasted just 49 days in office.
Starmer was elected on a promise to end the political chaos that roiled the Conservatives’ final years in power. That proved easier said than done.
Labour lawmaker Clive Efford said Starmer’s critics should “be careful what you wish for.”
“I don’t think people took to the changes in prime minister when the Tories were in power,” he told the BBC. “It didn’t do them any good.”
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