Pope Francis has no fever, ‘clearly improving’ from flu

By Joseph Tulloch

“The Pope is in a good and stable condition; he has no fever, and his respiratory situation is clearly improving.”

That’s the latest update on the Pope’s health given on Monday morning by Matteo Bruni, the Director of the Holy See Press Office.

The Pope has been suffering from a “pulmonary inflammation,” as he himself said on Sunday, appearing via videolink for his Sunday Angelus address.

Mr. Bruni confirmed that the CT scan which Pope Francis underwent early Saturday afternoon at the Gemelli Hospital on Rome’s Tiberian Island “ruled out pneumonia but showed pulmonary inflammation that has caused some breathing difficulties.”

“To increase the efficacy of the treatment, a cannula needle was inserted for the infusion of intravenous antibiotic therapy,” said Mr. Bruni.

Activities rescheduled

Mr. Bruni went on to say that “in order to facilitate the Pope’s recovery, some important engagements scheduled for the next few days have been postponed, so that he can devote the necessary time and energy to them.”

However, he said, “others, of an institutional nature or easier to endure given his current state of health, have been maintained.”

On Sunday morning, the Pope recited the Angelus prayer by video link from the chapel of the his residence at the Casa Santa Marta, so as to avoid exposure to the autumnal cold at the window of the Apostolic Palace.

He told the estimated 12,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square: “Today, I cannot look out of the window because I have this problem of inflammation in my lungs. The reflection will be read by Monsignor Braida, who knows them well because it is he who writes them, and he always does them so well. Thank you very much for your presence.”

Msgr. Paolo Braida, Head of the Coordination Office for Pontifical Speeches at the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, then read the prepared catechesis, with Pope Francis offering the final blessing.