The doctor caring for Pope Francis thought about completing the treatment at some point because “there was a risk that he would not accomplish it.”
Dr. Sergio Alfieri, medical director at Gemeri Hospital, spoke about the scene on February 28th, when the 88-year-old, coughed and suffered from vomiting that he inhaled, urged staff to give them ventilation masks to help them breathe.
“It was the first time I saw tears in the eyes of those around him. People who understood that they loved him so sincerely as their father during this hospital stay. We all knew that the situation would get worse and there was a risk that he wouldn't get it,” Alfieri told Coriere della's newspaper in an interview published Tuesday.
“We had to take a very high risk of damaging other organs and choose to stop him and let him go or force him.
Pope Francis will be first published in five weeks
Pope Francis appeared at the window at the Agostino Gemeri Polyclinic in Rome on Sunday, March 23, 2025, and had been undergoing treatment for bronchitis and bilateral pneumonia since February 14th. (ap/riccardo de Luca)
The Vatican did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
Alfieri told the newspaper that Francis “delegated all kinds of health care decisions to Masimiliano Strapetti, his personal health care assistant who fully knows the Pope's wishes.”
“Try it all, we won't give up,” Alfieri recalled telling the hospital staff to staff. “That was something we all thought of, and no one gave up.”
Medical staff are providing the latest information on Pope Francis' status
Luigi Carbon, head of the Vatican's Department of Health and Health, and surgeon Sergio Alfieri, will speak to journalists on Saturday, March 22, 2025 at Agostino Gemeri Policicic in Rome. (AP/Gregorio Borgia)
“anytime [Francis’] He exacerbated his total consciousness. The night was terrible, he knew he might not survive the night like we did,” Alfieri told Corriere della Serra. “We saw a man in pain. But from the first day he asked us to tell him the truth, and he wanted us to tell him the truth about his condition.”
Francis was eventually discharged from a Rome hospital on Sunday.
Pope Francis leaves the car on Sunday, March 23, 2025 after appearing at the window of the Agostino Gemelipoli Clinic in Rome. (AP/Stefano Costantino)
Click here to get the Fox News app
A spokesman for the Pope said Tuesday that Francis was very pleased to return home and that his breathing and exercise therapy is ongoing.
