Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Pope Francis, 88 years old, was hospitalised for 38 days with pneumonia. Doctors considered stopping treatment during a severe breathing crisis but fought to save him. Now recovering at the Vatican, his April 8, 2025, meeting with King Charles III was postponed.
Pope Francis went home from the hospital after 38 days. He is now back at the Vatican, where he is getting better under the care of doctors. He needs to rest for 2 months and has nurses with him all the time. He can use extra oxygen when he needs it.
Doctors mentioned that he is much better, but he still has some problems from being sick for so long. He has trouble breathing and talking. It’s not clear when he will be able to do all of his regular work as Pope.
Officials mentioned that he has fewer events on his schedule, so he can get better. The Vatican has not given word on when he is returning to be out in public, but for now, he is simply concentrating on recovering.
Why was King Charles’s meeting with Pope Francis postponed?
On April 8, 2025, there was a meeting scheduled between Pope Francis and King Charles and Queen Camilla, however, this meeting has been delayed. The Pope is continuing to recover from his illness and has been asked by his doctors to take things easy for the time being.
Because the Pope is still weak and needs to get better slowly, the Vatican decided to cancel the meeting so he wouldn’t get stressed. They haven’t said when the meeting will happen, but they both hope to reschedule it when the Pope is feeling better.
Although the Pope meeting is canceled, King Charles and Queen Camilla will travel to Italy from April 7–10, 2025. King Charles will give a speech before the Italian Parliament on April 9, 2025.
The trip is about making the relationship between the UK and Italy stronger. They will talk about things like climate change, working together on culture, and how countries should get along. The King and Queen have said they hope the Pope gets better soon, and they understand why the meeting had to be canceled.
Earlier this year, 88-year-old Pope Francis fell very seriously ill. He had pneumonia in both lungs, which hospitalized him for a prolonged time. He was originally taken to the hospital because he had a cough, but his illness progressed. He needed oxygen and medicine through his veins.
Pope Francis had 2 serious health problems while he was in the hospital. The worst one happened on February 28th, 2025. He had trouble breathing because he had breathed in some vomit during a lung spasm.
The doctor who was taking care of him said that the Pope knew what was happening and understood how serious it was. The doctor even said that the Pope might not make it through the night.
From day one, he asked us to tell him the truth about his condition,
the Doctors said.
