The 88-year-old Pope Francis, who has been hospitalized for 11 days due to bilateral pneumonia, continues to be in critical condition, but there has been a slight improvement in his health. The Vatican, the spiritual leader of Catholics and the President of the Vatican City State, made a statement regarding the health condition of Pope Francis who has been hospitalized at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome for 11 days after suffering severe bronchitis at the beginning of the month and being diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia. The statement indicated: “Although the Pope’s health condition remains critical, a slight improvement is being observed. There were no asthma-like respiratory crises today, and some laboratory tests showed improvement. The slight kidney insufficiency does not pose a worrying situation. While he continues to receive oxygen support, the flow rate and percentage of oxygen have been slightly reduced. Given the complexity of the clinical picture, doctors are refraining from making any definite predictions at this time.” The Vatican’s announcement stated that the Pope resumed his work activities in the afternoon and met with a priest from a church in Gaza in the evening, just as he would on a regular day. The morning Vatican statement also mentioned that the Pope had a calm night, his treatments continued in the morning, he was pain-free, and he was in good spirits. Meanwhile, the cardinals residing in Rome will gather this evening in St. Peter’s Square to pray for the Pope’s health, led by the Vatican Secretary of State (Prime Minister) Cardinal Pietro Parolin. The Pope has been receiving treatment at the hospital since February 14th. In two public events on the 9th and 12th of February, Pope Francis expressed that he had bronchitis and was having difficulty breathing, unable to give a speech and asking his aides to read the speech texts for him. It was reported that he had a polymicrobial infection in his respiratory tract when he was admitted to the Gemelli Hospital on the 14th of February. The Vatican announced on the 18th of February that the Pope had developed bilateral pneumonia and his clinical condition was complex. In their statement on the 21st of February, his doctors mentioned that although he had not completely overcome the danger, the Pope was not in a life-threatening situation. On the 22nd of February, it was expressed that the Pope’s condition was “critical” after he experienced an asthma attack, and yesterday’s Vatican statement reported that he did not experience another respiratory crisis, a mild onset of kidney insufficiency was observed, and he was receiving high-flow oxygen supplementation through his nose. In recent years, Pope Francis, who has been the spiritual leader of Catholics since 2013, was hospitalized for the first time in 2021 at the Gemelli Hospital and underwent colon surgery. Having been treated twice more at the same hospital for shortness of breath complaints and the placement of a prosthesis on his abdominal wall, he has been using a wheelchair in recent years due to knee pains.