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Pope still critical but has shown 'slight improvement'
The Independent
|February 25, 2025
Pope Francis is still critically ill as he battles double pneumonia, but his condition has shown a "slight improvement", the Vatican said yesterday.
The 88-year-old pontiff has spent his 11th night in Rome's Gemelli Hospital, making it the longest hospital stay of his nearly 12-year papacy.
“The clinical conditions of the Holy Father, in their critical nature, show a slight improvement,” the health update read. The Pope, it said, was still receiving oxygen, “although with slightly reduced flow and oxygen percentage”. It added that the “mild kidney insufficiency” first reported on Sunday was “not a cause for concern”.
A Vatican official, who did not wish to be named because he was not authorised to speak about the Pope’s condition, earlier said that Francis was eating normally and was able to get up and move about his hospital room. Yesterday’s statement said the Pope had resumed work in the afternoon, and in the evening had made a call to the Catholic parish in Gaza, which he has done frequently during the Israel-Hamas war.
This story is from the February 25, 2025 edition of The Independent.
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