ROME. Pope Francis is gradually recovering in the hospital but must “relearn to speak” following prolonged high-flow oxygen therapy, according to Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, head of the Vatican’s doctrinal office.
Speaking at a book presentation on Friday, Fernandez dismissed speculation about the pontiff’s possible retirement and assured that Francis was regaining his usual strength.
“The pope is doing very well, but high-flow oxygen dries everything out. He needs to relearn how to speak, but his overall physical condition is as it was before,” Fernandez stated.
The 88-year-old pontiff has been hospitalized for five weeks due to double pneumonia. Since then, the Vatican has only released one brief audio clip of him speaking, dated March 6, in which his voice sounded broken, breathless, and difficult to understand.
In its latest health update on Friday, the Vatican reported that Pope Francis’ condition remained stable with “minor improvements in breathing and mobility.” The statement confirmed that he had not required mechanical ventilation since Monday but continued to receive oxygen through a nasal cannula for much of the day.
There is still no official confirmation regarding when the pope will be discharged from the hospital. Cardinal Fernandez admitted uncertainty about whether he would be able to return to the Vatican in time for Easter, which falls on April 20.
“He could return, but the doctors want to be 100% sure because he believes that with the little time he has left, he wants to dedicate himself entirely to others, not to himself,” Fernandez explained.
When asked if Pope Francis might step down from his role, the cardinal firmly denied the possibility. “I really don’t think so, no,” he said.
Pope Francis has faced several health challenges in the past two years and remains vulnerable to lung infections due to a previous bout of pleurisy as a young adult, which led to the partial removal of one lung.
Gary P Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
- Gary P Hernalhttps://tutubi.ph/author/gary-hernal/
- Gary P Hernalhttps://tutubi.ph/author/gary-hernal/
- Gary P Hernalhttps://tutubi.ph/author/gary-hernal/
- Gary P Hernalhttps://tutubi.ph/author/gary-hernal/
