Pope Francis has ‘quiet’ night in hospital, Vatican says
ABC News
ROME and LONDON — Pope Francis in a prayer published on Sunday thanked Gemelli Hospital’s doctors and medical staff “for the attention with which they are taking care of me.”
The prayer — the pope’s weekly Angelus — was dispatched from the hospital in Rome, where the pope was resting early Sunday after a “quiet” night, the Vatican said in a brief statement.
“The night was quiet, the pope is still resting,” the Vatican’s press office said.
Francis in his prayer to followers said he felt “all your affection and closeness,” adding that he felt “as if I am ‘carried’ and supported by all God’s people.”
“I feel in my heart the ‘blessing’ that is hidden within frailty, because it is precisely in these moments that we learn even more to trust in the Lord,” he said in the prayer.
He added, “At the same time, I thank God for giving me the opportunity to share in body and spirit the condition of so many sick and suffering people.”
Francis, who has led the Catholic Church since 2013, was admitted to Gemelli on Feb. 14 and was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia.
The 88-year-old pontiff had been in stable condition on Saturday, church officials said, following a bronchospasm attack on Friday.
(LONDON) — The U.S. believes an individual seen in a video circulating online could be Travis Pete Timmerman, an American who went missing from Hungary earlier in the year, two officials familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Officials said they were seeking to provide support to the person, who doesn’t speak in the short video and is seen lying on a mattress on the floor.
Timmerman, 29, has been missing since June 2, 2024, the date of his last contact, according to Missouri State Highway Patrol.
It wasn’t immediately clear when and where the circulating video was taken, but the person speaking in Arabic to the camera identifies the man as an American, according to a translation. The speaker was identified as a Syrian local.
Police in Budapest, the Hungarian capital, published a statement in August seeking information about Timmerman, whom they said was missing.
“According to available data, the 29-year-old man was last seen at a church in District II, and has since left for an unknown location, with no sign of life,” police said, according to a translation.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.
Andrew Tate (left) and his brother Tristan Tate are pictured inside The Court of Appeal in Bucharest, Romania, on December 10, 2024. (Photo by DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP v
(LONDON) — Controversial influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate have landed in Florida, after Romanian officials announced that court restrictions prohibiting them from leaving Romania while awaiting trial were lifted.
The pair were traveling aboard a private jet after being allowed to leave Romania, according to a source close to the brothers.
Their spokesperson shared a live feed of the plane arriving in Fort Lauderdale late Thursday morning.
The charges against the Tates remain in force, and they will be expected to return to Romania for court appearances, according to a statement from Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, or DIICOT.
The brothers had been confined to Romania since late 2022 when they were arrested on allegations of human trafficking, sexual abuse, money laundering and forming an organized criminal group.
They were charged in 2023 and have denied the allegations.
The Tates’ departure follows reports that Trump administration officials had lobbied Romania to lift a travel ban on them while they are awaiting trial.
A lawyer for an American woman who is one of the key alleged victims in the Romanian criminal case against Andrew Tate condemned the Trump administration after he was allowed to leave Romania.
“It seems clear the U.S. intervened in Romania to assist the Tate brothers who are being prosecuted for sex trafficking over 35 women including minors,” Dani Pinter, senior vice president at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, said in a statement. “This is a slap in the face to all the victims of the Tate brothers especially the U.S. victim who is not being protected by her country.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said his office had no involvement in the case and found out through the media that the brothers were traveling to Florida.
“But the reality is, no, Florida is not a place where you’re welcome with that type of conduct in the air,” he said when asked by a reporter at an unrelated press conference on Thursday if Andrew Tate is welcome in Florida.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(LONDON and ROME) — Pope Francis remained hospitalized on Tuesday as he continues to recover from a respiratory tract infection and now the “onset of bilateral pneumonia,” the Vatican said.
“Laboratory tests, chest X-ray, and the Holy Father’s clinical condition continue to present a complex picture,” the Vatican press office said in a statement. “The polymicrobial infection, which arose on a picture of bronchiectasis and asthmatic bronchitis, and which required the use of cortisone antibiotic therapy, makes therapeutic treatment more complex.”
A follow-up chest CT scan on Tuesday “demonstrated the onset of bilateral pneumonia, which required additional drug therapy,” the Vatican said.
“Nevertheless, Pope Francis is in good spirits,” the Vatican said. “This morning, he received the Eucharist, and throughout the day he alternated rest with prayer and reading texts. He gives thanks for the closeness he feels at this time and asks, with a grateful heart, that we continue to pray for him.”
The Vatican announced earlier Tuesday that the Jubilee Audience on Saturday has been canceled as the pope continues to recover in hospital.
“Due to the Holy Father’s health condition, the Jubilee Audience on Saturday, Feb. 22, is canceled,” the Vatican said Tuesday morning. “For the celebration of the Holy Mass on the occasion of the Jubilee of Deacons, scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 23, at 9 a.m., in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis has delegated H.E. Msgr. Rino Fisichella, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, Section for Fundamental Issues of Evangelization in the World.”
Matteo Bruni, the director of the Vatican press room, told reporters on Sunday that the pope had his second consecutive restful night after being admitted to the hospital on Friday.
“Pope Francis had a tranquil night. He slept well, had breakfast and read a few papers, as usual,” Bruni said.
On Saturday, the Vatican said the pope “rested all night” Friday and had no fever on Saturday morning. His treatment has been slightly modified based on further “microbiological findings,” according to the Vatican.
The Vatican added, “To facilitate his recovery, the medical staff prescribed absolute rest.”
The pope was admitted to a hospital on Friday for “necessary tests” and to continue his ongoing bronchitis treatment, the Vatican said.
ANSA, the Italian news agency, reported that “several sources” revealed the pope had arrived on Friday at Gemelli Hospital very fatigued due to difficulty in breathing related to an excess of phlegm and that the treatment he was undergoing at home had not yielded the expected results.
“Pope Francis has been informed of the many messages of closeness and affection he has received and expresses his gratitude, as well as asking for continued prayers,” the Vatican added.
