VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — With Pope Francis’ diagnosis of double pneumonia being made public Tuesday night, Italy’s state-owned public broadcaster is reportedly preparing for an “extraordinary edition” as speculation around the Pope’s health grows.
Late Tuesday night, Italian Catholic blog Messa in Latino reported that RAI Vaticano has been alerted for a possible extraordinary edition. RAI Vaticano is the Vatican-dedicated section of Italy’s state-sponsored broadcaster RAI.
The news came shortly after a notable update was released regarding Pope Francis’ health, following his admission to hospital on February 14. On Tuesday evening, the Holy See Press Office director Matteo Bruni stated that hospital tests had revealed the Pope has double pneumonia.
READ: Pope Francis has double pneumonia, Vatican announces
Francis’ treatment remained “complex,” Bruni said, while further tests “showed the onset of bilateral pneumonia that required further drug therapy.”
On Wednesday morning, a very brief update from Bruni announced that Francis rested well and had eaten breakfast.
Some sources have reported that the Pope is improving, notwithstanding his diagnosis of pneumonia.
Ansa news agency also stated that the Pope gets out of bed during the day and sits in an armchair, as opposed to being bed-bound. The outlet cited Vatican sources who stated that Francis’ heart is doing well and that despite the pneumonia affecting his one and a half lungs, he is not requiring supplemental oxygen. However, in order to recover, visitations are completely canceled apart from those who are his closest collaborators.
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin is due to visit Francis this afternoon, fresh from his 4-day trip to Burkina Faso.
Amid growing calls for prayer for the hospitalized Pontiff which have come from across the world, U.S. Vice-President JD Vance added his voice to those. “Let’s all say a prayer for Pope Francis, who appears to have some serious health issues,” he wrote on X.
Meanwhile another medical update is expected from the Vatican early Wednesday evening, local time.
Already missing a large part of one lung as a result of illness in his early 20s, Francis has always been particularly susceptible to winter colds affecting his breathing capability.
Francis had been admitted to hospital Friday with a fever and with bronchitis, though the Holy See Press Office told journalists Saturday evening that the fever had apparently subsided, and medical personnel reportedly stated that he was showing “improvement in some values.”
On Sunday evening, his condition was declared “stationary,” but then on Monday the press office announced it had worsened and that “all the investigations carried out to date are indicative of a complex clinical picture that will require appropriate hospital stay.”
His audiences have been cancelled up until the end of Sunday, February 23.