Latest news about Pope Francis' health

Pope Francis has faced numerous health challenges in recent years, and yet still has maintained a busy schedule of meetings, Masses, and travel since 2020.

The Latest

Pope Francis left Rome's Gemelli Hospital shortly before 9:00 a.m. on June 16, 2023. Before returning to the Vatican, he stopped to pray in front of the historic Marian icon of Salus Populi Romani at St. Mary Major Basilica, and made a quick visit to a group of religious sisters close to St. Peter's Square.

PHOTOS: Pope Francis returns to Vatican after surgery

Jun 16, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

Pope Francis was applauded by onlookers as he left Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Friday morning. Read more

This photograph taken on June 11, 2023, shows the statue of the late Pope John Paul II at the entrance to the Gemelli hospital in Rome. Pope Francis underwent an operation for an abdominal hernia on June 7, 2023, at the Rome hospital.

Vatican: Pope Francis’ doctors plan to discharge him from hospital ‘in the next few days’

Jun 14, 2023

By Courtney Mares

The 86-year-old pope is currently recovering in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital one week after he underwent a three-hour surgery for an... Read more

Dr. Sergio Alfieri (left), Pope Francis' surgeon, and Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruno hold a press conference Saturday, June 10, 2023, at Gemelli Hospital in Rome.

Pope Francis praying and working from hospital

Jun 12, 2023

By Courtney Mares

The Vatican said Monday that Pope Francis is working from the hospital as he recovers from hernia surgery. Read more

Pope Francis on the morning of June 7, 2023 shortly before heading to the hospital for abdominal surgery greets pilgrims at his general audience in St. Peter's Square.

Pope Francis sends message from hospital to European political party

Jun 11, 2023

By Courtney Mares

In a letter to the European People’s Party, the pope urged politicians to be united on “issues where primary ethical... Read more

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Pope Francis will not pray public Angelus from hospital on Sunday

Jun 10, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

A Vatican spokesman said Pope Francis would pray the Angelus privately at noon in his hospital room. Read more

Pope Francis at his general audience in St. Peter's Square on May 17, 2023.

Pope Francis making normal progress in recovery from abdominal surgery

Jun 9, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

“The medical team reports that the clinical picture is steadily improving and the postoperative progress is normal.” Read more

A photograph shows an outside view of the Gemelli hospital in Rome on June 8, 2023, where Pope Francis has been hospitalized following an operation for an abdominal hernia on June 7.

Pope Francis stable, receives poster from family of baby he baptized in hospital in March

Jun 8, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

According a Vatican spokesman, medical staff caring for the pope shared that his “postoperative course is regular.” Read more

A large statue of St. John Paul II at the entrance of Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where Pope Francis is recovering from surgery he underwent on June 7, 2023.

Pope Francis is recovering in same hospital room where John Paul II was treated

Jun 8, 2023

By Courtney Mares

Pope Francis is recovering from abdominal surgery this week in the same hospital room where St. John Paul II was... Read more

Pope Francis at his general audience in St Peter’s Square on May 31, 2023.

Pope Francis in ‘good general condition’ one day after abdominal surgery

Jun 8, 2023

By Courtney Mares

In a surgery lasting three hours on June 7, a team of surgeons operated on a hernia in the pope’s... Read more

Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the lead surgeon for Pope Francis' abdominal surgery, speaks at a press conference at Gemelli Hospital on June 7, 2023.

Surgeon: Pope Francis ‘well, awake, alert’ after operation

Jun 7, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

Pope Francis is awake after reacting well to both the surgery and general anesthetic, an Italian surgeon said Wednesday afternoon. Read more

Pope Francis at his Wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square June 7, 2023.

Vatican: Pope Francis out of surgery, recovering in hospital

Jun 7, 2023

By Courtney Mares

The Vatican said Wednesday evening that Pope Francis is out of surgery and the abdominal operation he underwent “took place... Read more

Pope Francis on the morning of June 7, 2023 shortly before heading to the hospital for abdominal surgery greets pilgrims at his general audience in St. Peter's Square.

Pope Francis’ appointments canceled until June 18, Italian diocese says

Jun 7, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

Pope Francis’ audiences have been canceled until June 18, an Italian Catholic diocese said Wednesday, citing the Prefecture of the... Read more

Pope Francis prayed before a relic of St. Therese of Lisieux at the beginning of his general audience in St. Peter's Square, and shortly before going to the hospital for an abdominal surgery, on June 7, 2023.

Pope Francis prayed with relic of St. Thérèse of Lisieux before surgery

Jun 7, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

One of Pope Francis’ last gestures before undergoing abdominal surgery was to pray before a relic of St. Thérèse of... Read more

Pope Francis greeted pilgrims in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, a few hours before he will be hospitalized for abdominal surgery under general anesthesia.

Pope Francis hospitalized for abdominal surgery

Jun 7, 2023

By Courtney Mares, Hannah Brockhaus

The operation was planned by the pope’s medical team in recent days after it became necessary due to a hernia... Read more

Pope Francis at his Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on May 31, 2023.

Vatican: Pope Francis has checkup at Rome hospital

Jun 6, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

Media reports said Pope Francis visited a clinic for the elderly connected to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital. Read more

Pope Francis shakes hands with film director Martin Scorsese and his wife Helen Morris. One day after suffering from a fever, Pope Francis resumed his normal activities, including meeting with participants in a conference on “The Global Aesthetics of the Catholic Imagination,” organized by Jesuit magazine “La Civiltà Cattolica” and Georgetown University, in the Apostolic Palace on May 27, 2023.

Pope Francis resumes normal schedule one day after fever

May 27, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

The pope had canceled meetings in the morning May 26 due to a fever. Read more

Pope Francis at the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square on May 24, 2023.

Pope Francis has a fever, Vatican spokesman confirms

May 26, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

The pope’s appointments were canceled Friday because he has a fever. Read more

Pope Francis takes questions from the media aboard the papal flight from Hungary to Rome April 30, 2023.

Pope Francis says he did not lose consciousness before hospitalization in March

Apr 30, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

Asked about his health during the in-flight press conference, the 86-year-old pope said he felt bad on March 29 and... Read more

Pope Francis washes inmates’ feet at Rome’s Regina Coeli Prison on Holy Thursday, March 29, 2018.

Pope Francis to wash juvenile prisoners’ feet this Holy Thursday

Apr 3, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

Less than a week after being released from Gemelli Hospital, Pope Francis will preside over Holy Thursday Mass at Casal... Read more

Pope Francis greeted the crowd gathered outside of the hospital after he was discharged on the morning of April 1, 2023.

Pope Francis returns to the Vatican after 3 days in the hospital

Apr 1, 2023

By Courtney Mares

Pope Francis was discharged from the hospital Saturday morning after a three-night stay in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital. Read more

Latest news

Cardinal-elect Dominique Mathieu, archbishop of Tehran-Isfahan, discusses with EWTN News the challenges and hopes of Iran’s small Catholic community ahead of receiving his red hat from Pope Francis.

Christians in Iran are ‘leaven of society,’ new cardinal-elect of Tehran says

The pillars of the South Portico of the White House are decorated in rainbow colors as guests attend a White House Pride Month celebration on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on June 26, 2024.

Trump could end Defense Department’s promotion of gender ideology, abortion

Kash Patel speaks at the 2022 AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix.

Trump taps Kash Patel to shake up the FBI

The rose window of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral is seen a few weeks before its reopening to the public scheduled for Dec. 7, 2024, on Oct. 25, 2024, in Paris.

U.S. President-elect Trump to attend Notre Dame Cathedral reopening in Paris

Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador.

Catholic Church in El Salvador calls on president to maintain ban on gold mining

Close to the Pantheon in the heart of Rome, one of the city’s oldest and most popular ecclesiastical tailor shops — Ditta Annibale Gammarelli — is ready for the Dec. 7, 2024, consistory for the creation of new cardinals.

Rome’s famous tailor prepares for the Catholic Church’s new cardinals

A 17th-century Japanese depiction of St. Francis Xavier from the Kobe City Museum collection.

Remembering St. Francis Xavier’s missionary zeal

Missouri’s bishops said citizens can reach out to the governor’s office to express opposition to the pending execution of Christopher Collings, who was convicted of the 2007 abduction, rape, torture and murder of a 9-year-old girl. Collings is scheduled to be executed on Dec. 3, 2024.

U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear Missouri convicted murderer’s death row case

According to Venerable English College, during the Catholic persecution in England, students would gather around the “Martyrs’ Picture” in the chapel to sing the Te Deum — a Latin hymn of thanksgiving — whenever news reached Rome of the martyrdom of a former student. This custom continues today on Martyrs’ Day, Dec. 1, when the relics of the martyrs, preserved beneath the altar, are venerated by the students.

English seminary in Rome commemorates Martyrs’ Day on St. Ralph Sherwin’s feast

Smoke of war rises over a residential area in Aleppo. On Dec. 1, 2024, the Franciscan complex of the Terra Santa College in Aleppo was hit by a strike. No casualties were reported.

As Aleppo’s Christians face new ordeal, Church leaders call for courage and faith

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