Pope Francis has told his aides he may not survive his recently diagnosed pneumonia, which has now spread to both of his lungs after he was rushed to the hospital last Friday.
The Pontiff, 88, told aides he “might not make it this time,” according to a report by Politico.
Despite the Vatican stating that Francis’s condition was stable, subsequent reports suggest he fears he will soon die and is “tying up loose ends” ahead of his successor.
According to those close to the Pope, he is suffering from intense pain and is now completely at the mercy of “doctors’ orders.”
The Pontiff is also distressed after being barred from delivering his regular morning Angelus sermon. Earlier this month, Francis was admitted to a special ward at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital after suffering from bronchitis.
Doctors told the Pope “in no uncertain terms he was at risk of dying” if he stayed at the Vatican.
However, the Vatican warned on Monday that a longer hospital stay was needed in the face of a “complex clinical picture” that involved a “polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract.”
Following the news, all of the Pope’s engagements have now been canceled, and his double-lung pneumonia diagnosis has left him with little hope of survival.
A statement issued by the Vatican yesterday read: “The chest CT scan that the Holy Father underwent this afternoon […] demonstrated the onset of bilateral pneumonia that required further pharmacological therapy.”
They also added that Francis’ respiratory infection involved asthmatic bronchitis, which requires extensive antibiotic treatment. The Pope had part of his lung removed years ago and is now vulnerable to pulmonary conditions. Expert Italian pulmonologist Barbara Moscatelli said the Pope’s condition is “neither easy to define nor to manage.”
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