Pope no longer has kidney issue, says Vatican
VATICAN CITY—Pope Francis has shown a “further, slight improvement” in his medical condition, the Vatican said on Wednesday, in a sign of progress as the 88-year-old pontiff battles double pneumonia.
The pope is spending his 13th night at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, the longest hospital stay of his nearly 12-year-old papacy.
“The clinical condition of the Holy Father in the last 24 hours has shown a further, slight improvement,” the latest detailed health update read.
The pope, it said, is continuing to receive oxygen but has not experienced any further respiratory crises.
A CT scan of his chest, performed on Tuesday, “showed a normal evolution” of the inflammation in his lungs, it added.
Over the weekend, the Vatican said the pontiff had shown a “mild kidney insufficiency,” raising fears he might be about to suffer kidney failure.
On Wednesday, it said the issue had been “resolved.”
Prognosis ‘still guarded’
The statement did not specify whether the pope was still considered to be in critical condition, as he has been listed since Saturday. Despite the pope’s improvements, it said his prognosis was still “guarded.”
A Vatican official, who did not wish to be named because he was not authorized to discuss the pope’s condition, said earlier on Wednesday that Francis was alert through the day and was able to eat normally and move about his hospital room.
Francis, who has been pope since 2013, is originally from Argentina and is the first Catholic pontiff from the Americas.
On Tuesday evening, many in Rome’s Argentinian community gathered at the Our Lady of Sorrows Church to pray for him.
“We pray for his health, that he can continue to govern the Church,” said Rev. Mario Aler, who referred to the ongoing 2025 Catholic Holy Year. “(Francis) should continue to accompany this important event for the whole Church,” he said.
Paraguay’s ambassador to the Vatican, Romina Taboada Tonina, who was attending the service, called the pope “a great leader, without a doubt.”
