By Tata Mbunwe
Pope Francis’ health has seen a slight improvement this Thursday morning, the Vatican said, but the Pope is yet to be out of danger.
The Pope’s health improvement comes as thousands of Catholics gathered in Rome, Argentina and elsewhere in the world this week to pray for the pontiff.
The 88-year-old has stayed at the Gemelli hospital in Rome since February 14, following a severe respiratory infection that required oxygen therapy.
The Vatican has been giving daily updates on the Pope’s health to counter a wave of misinformation that inundated the social media last week, claiming that he was dead.
In its dispatch of Thursday, February 27, the Vatican’s press office said the Pope “slept well during the night”.
It added that his condition “has shown a slight improvement over the past couple of days”.
The Pope is no longer suffering from kidney disease, the statement said, and the lung inflammation he suffered is getting better following a CT Scan on Tuesday night.
Argentinian-born Pope Francis, whose birth name is Jorge Mario Bergoglio, has encountered a series of health challenges for some time now.
His condition worsened when he was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Friday, February 14, after suffering from bronchitis.
Doctors later diagnosed him with pneumonia, and they sustained him with blood transfusions and oxygen therapy.
Worldwide Prayers for Pope
The Pope’s hospitalisation triggered a wave of prayers from Catholics across the globe.
In Rome, thousands gathered at St Peter’s Square to pray for his health, for his recovery, and for his return, Vatican News reported.
Among them were young people, families, priests, nuns, cardinals residing in Rome and heads of Dicasteries.
In Argentina, the Archbishop of the capital city Buenos Aires, Jorge Garcia Cuerva, led a mass for the health of the Pope. Dedicated prayers have also taken place in Minneapolis (USA), Guatemala and other parts of the world.
