VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis has shown the onset of double pneumonia, further complicating treatment for the 88-year pontiff, the Vatican said on Tuesday.

“The laboratory tests, chest X-ray, and clinical conditions continue to present a complex picture,” said a statement.

“(A) chest CAT scan which the Pope received this afternoon … showed the onset of bilaterial pneumonia that requires further pharmacological therapy,” it added.

“Nevertheless, Pope Francis remains in good spirits,” the statement said.

Bilaterial pneumonia is an infection that affects both lungs, and can make breathing difficult.

The pontiff has been suffering from a respiratory infection for more than a week and was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Feb 14.

He is especially prone to lung infections because as a young adult he developed pleurisy and had part of one lung removed.

A Vatican official said earlier in the day the pontiff had not been put on a ventilator and was breathing on his own.

Ahead of the latest statement, the Vatican announced that all public events on the pope’s calendar had been cancelled through Sunday.

The pope had been due to lead several events over the weekend for the Catholic Year, which runs through to next January.

It is a special time of pardon and forgiveness for Catholics and the Vatican expects 32 million tourists to visit Rome throughout the year, including for a range of special audiences with Pope Francis.

The Vatican said on Monday that doctors had changed the pope’s drug therapy for the second time during his hospital stay to tackle a “complex clinical situation”. They described it as a “polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract”.

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2025