“Pope Francis is a strong man who does not let difficulties get him down,” said the Rev. Enzo Fortunato, who heads a new Vatican committee on children. The fact that Francis is keeping up with his ordinary routine, including receiving the Eucharist, “is a sign of a man who wants to experience the ordinariness of illness in the hospital.”

Pope at risk of complications

The Vatican hasn’t provided any information about how Francis is responding to any of the drugs he has been given other than to say he isn’t running a fever. The Argentine pope, who has previously admitted to being a non-compliant patient, has a number of conditions that make him particularly at risk for complications: Aside from his age, he is not physically active and uses a wheelchair, limiting his ability to clear the fluids building up in his lungs.

Dr. Meredith McCormack, director of pulmonary and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins University, said doctors will be looking to see if Francis responds to the therapy, which can include physiotherapy to help clear the lungs. Severe cases of pneumonia are typically treated for about one to two weeks, but recovery in an older person could extend beyond that.

“Lack of worsening would be an encouraging sign,” said McCormack, who is not involved in Francis’ care.

Faithful from Bolivia pray for Pope Francis outside the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome on Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

The Vatican has given no indication of how long the pope might remain hospitalized, only saying that the treatment of such a “complex clinical picture” would require an “adequate” stay.

Pilgrimages continue despite pope’s canceled engagements

Despite the less than positive news about Francis’ condition, Francis was receiving get-well drawings and cards from children being treated in the hospital’s oncology ward. And at the Vatican on Wednesday, Holy Year pilgrimages continued, with groups of faithful walking through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica on a chilly and cloudy day.

“We are very happy to be here but we are also sad for the pope’s sickness,” said Amparo Alcala’, who was leading a large group of pilgrims from Valencia, Spain. “He is doing great things, most of all for the women in the church, and this gives us a lot of joy. We are praying for his recovery and that he might come back, if this is God’s will.”

A group of South Korean pilgrims in traditional costumes had planned to attend Francis’ weekly Wednesday general audience and show off their national dress, as pilgrims often do for the pope’s weekly appointment. When it was canceled, they came anyway.

“The Lunar New Year was very recent so we also wanted to bow traditionally and formally in front of him,” said Junhee Christina Kim, a pilgrim from Seoul, South Korea. “It was too good of a chance to pass up, so we came anyway so that we can be in the Vatican in our traditional costumes.”