Pope Francis has ‘tranquil night’ after thanking the public for support
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(ROME) — Pope Francis “had a tranquil night and woke shortly after 8 a.m.” on Friday morning, the Vatican said, coming a day after he made his first public comments since being hospitalized on Feb. 14.
The 88-year-old pope “remained stable compared to previous days” and did not have “episodes of respiratory insufficiency” on Thursday, his 21st day in the hospital, the Vatican in its evening update.
While Friday marks his 22nd consecutive day in hospital, the pontiff offered up hope on Thursday in the form of his first public comments since being hospitalized.
“I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers for my health from the Square, I accompany you from here. May God bless you and the Virgin protect you. Thank you,” the pope said in a recorded statement made in Spanish. The statement was played at the start of the rosary in St. Peter’s Square.”
The pope “continued with respiratory and motor physiotherapy with benefit,” the Vatican press office, the Holy See, said Thursday in its evening update. “Hemodynamic parameters and blood tests remained stable. He did not present fever.”
“The doctors are still maintaining the prognosis as reserved,” the Vatican said.
The Vatican said that, “in view of the stability of the clinical picture,” it won’t provide another medical update on the pope until Saturday.
Francis, who has led the Catholic Church since 2013, was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14 and was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia.
A view of the destruction after Russian forces launched a guided aerial bomb (KAB) attack, in Kherson, Ukraine on February 19, 2025. As a result of attack fifteen apartments were destroyed. At least 6 people wounded, including two 14-year-old children. (Photo by State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 14 missiles and 161 drones into the country in a massive overnight bombardment, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned against Russian deception in revived peace talks.
Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 80 of the drones launched in the latest Russian barrage, with another 78 lost in flight without causing any damage. The 14 missiles targeted energy infrastructure, the air force said, adding it would not reveal how many were intercepted.
Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko wrote on Facebook that Russia conducted a “massive” missile and drone attack on “gas infrastructure.”
The aim of the “criminal attacks” was to “stop the production of gas, which is necessary to provide citizens’ household needs and centralized heating,” he said.
“While Russia continues to blatantly lie about not attacking civilian critical infrastructure, we are witnessing multiple missiles targeting Ukrainian gas mining facilities at once,” Galushchenko wrote.
“Such actions of the enemy prove only once again that Russia is trying to hurt ordinary Ukrainians, plunged into the cold in the middle of winter,” he added. “This is outright terrorism.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its strike targeted “gas and energy infrastructure facilities that ensure the operation of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine.”
“The strike’s objective has been achieved,” the ministry said. “All facilities have been hit.”
Russia’s long-range strikes into Ukraine have not eased despite the opening of talks with President Donald Trump’s administration aimed at ending Moscow’s three-year-old full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The talks began this week in Saudi Arabia without Ukrainian participation, Kyiv’s exclusion prompting condemnation in Ukraine and across Europe.
Such criticism appeared to irk Trump, who this week criticized European allies and the Ukrainian leadership for having failed to end Russia’s war. The president went on to call Zelenskyy a “dictator without elections,” claiming — without providing evidence — that his Ukrainian counterpart’s public approval rating was as low as 4%.
Trump also wrote on Truth Social that Zelenskyy “better move fast or he is not going to have a country left.”
Zelenskyy, meanwhile, suggested Trump is in a “disinformation space,” attributing at least some of the U.S. leader’s criticism to Russian disinformation campaigns.
On Thursday, Zelenskyy marked the anniversary of the culmination of Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan Revolution — in which pro-Western protesters overthrew Moscow-aligned President Viktor Yanukovych.
“It was in these days of 2014 that Russia chose war — it began the first steps towards the occupation of Crimea,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. “While people were being killed in Kyiv, and people were defending their freedom, Putin decided to strike another blow.”
“Since then, the world has been living in a new reality, when Russia is trying to deceive everyone,” the president wrote. “And it is very important not to give in, to be together. It is very important to support those who defend freedom.”
Ukraine is continuing its own long-range campaign against Russian military and industrial infrastructure, especially targets linked to the country’s lucrative fossil fuel industry. Ukrainian security services have referred to the campaign as “drone sanctions.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Thursday that its forces shot down 13 Ukrainian drones over the previous 24 hours.
ABC News’ Nataliia Popova, Oleksiy Pshemyskiy and Fidel Pavlenko contributed to this report.
Candles and messages of healing for Pope Francis are laid at the statue of John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where the Pope is hospitalized with pneumonia, in Rome on February 26, 2025. (Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
(LONDON and ROME) — Pope Francis suffered a “sudden worsening of his respiratory condition,” after an “isolated attack of bronchospasm” which caused vomiting with inhalation, the Vatican said on Friday.
A bronchospasm is a coughing attack.
The pope underwent broncho aspiration and was put on non-invasive mechanical ventilation, with a good response in terms of gas exchange, the Vatican said.
The pontiff, who has been hospitalized in Rome since Feb. 14, remained alert and oriented while receiving treatment, the Vatican said.
His prognosis remains “uncertain,” the Vatican said.
Earlier Friday, the Vatican press office said the pope had a peaceful evening of rest in hospital and is continuing his recovery in the hospital.
“As in recent days, the night passed peacefully and the Pope is now resting,” the Vatican said.
Officials said that Pope Francis’ condition continued to improve on Thursday, with the pontiff alternating between high-flow oxygen therapy and a ventimask, according to the Vatican.
“Given the complexity of his clinical condition, further days of clinical stability are needed to clarify the prognosis,” the Vatican said.
“For the second time, there is no mention of a critical condition,” Vatican sources told ABC News. “So we can say that we have come out of the most critical phase and we are back to what was previously described as a complex picture.”
On Thursday, the pope dedicated the morning to respiratory physiotherapy and rest. In the afternoon, he gathered in prayer in the chapel of the private apartment on the 10th floor, receiving the Eucharist. The pope then dedicated himself to work activities, according to the Vatican.
“The bulletin again speaks of an improvement, a slight one, but an improvement, but the fact that the prognosis is reserved means that the doctors still have concerns,” Vatican sources told ABC News.
The pontiff, who has led the Catholic Church since 2013, was diagnosed with pneumonia last week, according to the Vatican.
(ROME and LONDON) — Pope Francis is “resting” on Monday morning after spending his 10th night in the hospital, the Vatican press office said.
“The night passed well, the Pope slept and is resting,” the office said in a short statement.
Francis has been eating normally, is awake and is continuing his medical therapies, a source at the Vatican told ABC News. He’s also in good humor and isn’t suffering from pain, the source said.
Francis has been hospitalized at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital since Feb. 14 following a bout with bronchitis.
The 88-year-old pontiff, who has led the Catholic Church since 2013, underwent another round of clinical tests on Sunday morning, Vatican sources told ABC News.
Officials said Sunday he remained in critical condition. Medical staff were expected to issue an update from Rome later on Monday.
The pontiff was diagnosed with pneumonia on Tuesday, according to the Vatican.
A rosary will be said in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Monday, led by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin. That rosary is seen as a way for the church to express its “closeness to the Pope and the sick,” said the director of the Vatican press office, Matteo Bruni.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
