Pope Francis came close to dying and told hospital staff ‘It’s bad’ as they battled to save his life, a doctor involved in his treatment has revealed.
Pope Francis, 88, who is due to meet King Charles and Camilla next month when they visit Italy, was released from hospital last Sunday after five weeks fighting double pneumonia.
Doctors have warned he will need at least two months to recover putting his busy Easter schedule in doubt as well as his meeting with the royal couple.
In an interview with Corriere Della Sera, Professor Sergio Alfieri, who was on the Gemelli hospital team treating the Pontiff, gave rare insights into his treatment and his brush with death.
Late last month the world held its breath as the Vatican announced the Argentine Pope – who last part of his lung as a child – was struggling to breathe and needed oxygen.
Professor Alfieri said: ‘The worst was the night of February 28. He whispered: “it’s bad”. Those who were next to him had tears in their eyes.
‘For the first time I saw tears in the eyes of some of the people around him. People who, I understood during this period of hospitalization, sincerely love him, like a father.
‘We were all aware that the situation had worsened further and there was a risk that he wouldn’t make it.
Pope Francis greets and blesses the faithful from a balcony of the Gemelli Hospital on Sunday
Doctors have warned he will need at least two months to recover
Pope Francis leaves on a car after appearing at a window of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome on Sunday
‘We had to choose whether to stop and let him go or force it and try with all the drugs and therapies possible, running the very high risk of damaging other organs. And in the end, we took this path.’
When asked if the Pope had known he was at risk of dying Professor Alfieri said: ‘Yes, also because he was always alert. Even when his condition worsened, he was fully conscious.
‘That evening was terrible, he knew, like us, that he might not survive the night. We saw the man who was suffering.
‘However, from the first day he asked us to tell him the truth and he wanted us to tell the truth about his condition.’
He added: ‘For days we risked damage to the kidneys and the spinal cord but we continued, then the body responded to the treatment and the lung infection eased.’
Professor Alfieri also revealed how Pope Francis almost choked to death while having a meal and said: ‘We were emerging from the hardest period, while he was eating Pope Francis had a regurgitation and inhaled.
It was the second really critical moment because in these cases — if not promptly rescued — you risk sudden death in addition to complications in the lungs which were already the most compromised organs.
‘It was terrible, we really thought we wouldn’t make it.’
Pope Francis has been in hospital since February 14 with bronchitis and bilateral pneumonia
The statue of John Paul II at the entrance to the Gemelli Hospital, where Pope Francis is being treated
Professor Alfieri revealed the Pope had also acknowledged this was his second brush with death and said: ‘He always realized everything, but I think his awareness was also the reason that kept him alive.
‘In the past, when we spoke, I asked him how he manages to keep up this pace and he always answered: “I have method and rules.”
‘In addition to a very strong heart, he has incredible resources. I think that the fact that the whole world was praying for him also contributed to this.’
When asked if prayer has worked, he replied: ‘I can say that on two occasions the situation was lost and then it happened like a miracle. Of course, he was a very cooperative patient. He underwent all the therapies without ever complaining.’
To show his thanks Pope Francis also stood a round of pizzas for staff at the hospital who had looked after him during his stay.
Professor Alfieri said: ‘He gave the money to one of the collaborators and offered the pizza to whoever had assisted him that day.’
He also revealed that it was Pope Francis who had insisted on being discharged and said: ‘It was a continuous improvement, and I understood that he had decided to return to Santa Marta when, one morning, he said to me: “I’m still alive, when are we going home?”.
‘The next day he looked out the window, looked for the microphone and addressed the lady with the yellow flowers. To me it seemed like a clear signal to say I’m back and I’m fully recovered.’
