Pope Francis

Cardinal Angelo De Donatis prays in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, during a vigil rosary for the recovery of Pope Francis, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope pens letter to the editor while in hospital as Buckingham Palace announces King Charles’ visit

Pope Francis says in a letter to an Italian newspaper that his lengthy illness has made clearer to him the absurdity of war and the power of words to shape the truth and facts.
 
Britain's King Charles III waves as he arrives for a visit to University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre in London, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

King Charles III plans to meet Pope Francis during Vatican state visit

 
This picture released by the Vatican Press Office shows Pope Francis concelebrating a mass inside his private chapel att the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome on Sunday, March 16, 2025. (Vatican Press Office, Via AP )

Pope registers new slight improvements in pneumonia fight as Vatican gives details on hospital photo

 
This picture released by the Vatican Press Office shows Pope Francis concelebrating a mass inside his private chapel att the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome on Sunday, March 16, 2025. (Vatican Press Office, Via AP )

Vatican releases first photograph of the pope in a month as he celebrates Mass in hospital chapel

 
A message for Pope Francis is seen in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, in Rome, Saturday, March 15, 2025, where the Pontiff is hospitalized since Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope works on signature reform from hospital as Vatican cuts back on updates on medical progress

 

Cardinals, nuns and faithful continue to gather in the Vatican to hold daily prayers for Pope Francis

Members of the Catholic Church and faithful gathered in Vatican City on Tuesday evening, continuing their daily prayers for the health of Pope Francis, who remains in hospital. Francis for the second day spent some time off high flows of oxygen and used just ordinary supplemental oxygen delivered by a nasal tube, the Holy See press office said Tuesday.
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Pope registers new slight improvements in pneumonia fight, AP Explains

Vatican releases first photograph of pope in more than a month - AP explains

Runners in Rome marathon hold 42 seconds of silence for Pope Francis

From the archive

The AP sat down for a lengthy interview with Pope Francis in 2023

Pope Francis speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the Vatican, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. Francis acknowledged that Catholic bishops in some parts of the world support laws that criminalize homosexuality or discriminate against the LGBTQ community, and he himself referred to homosexuality in terms of "sin." But he attributed attitudes to culture backgrounds, and said bishops in particular need to undergo a process of change to recognize the dignity of everyone. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

The AP Interview: Pope says homosexuality not a crime

Pope Francis has criticized laws that criminalize homosexuality as “unjust,” saying God loves all his children just as they are.
 
Pope Francis speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at The Vatican, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. According to the pope, the arms industry has brought untold death and destruction to the world. “The world is obsessed with weapons,” he said. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

The AP Interview takeaways: Pope decries expanding gun use

 
Pope Francis pauses during an interview with The Associated Press at The Vatican, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. Francis acknowledged the Catholic Church still had a long way to go to deal with the problem, saying transparency was still lacking about how cases are resolved and that the church must speak out more about the abuse of “vulnerable adults.” (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope opens up on sex abuse cases, says church must do more

 
Pope Francis speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at The Vatican, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. Pope Francis on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023, said there's a risk that what could be a trailblazing reform process in the German church could become "ideological." (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope warns German church reform process elitist, ideological

 
Pope Francis pauses during an interview with The Associated Press at The Vatican, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. Pope Francis said he hasn't even considered issuing norms to regulate future papal resignations and says he plans to continue on for as long as he can as bishop of Rome, despite a wave of attacks against him by some top-ranked cardinals and bishops. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Pope discusses his health, his critics and future of papacy

 

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Pope Francis shares a light moment with "Telefono Amico" support hotline president Dario Briccola during an audience at the Vatican Saturday, March 11, 2017. (L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP, File)

At the Vatican switchboard, nuns soothe anxious callers about Pope Francis

 
Pope Francis blesses the faithful during his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall, at The Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Timeline of Pope Francis’ hospitalization for pneumonia at the 1-month mark

 
Rain falls on the auspicious candles with images of Pope Francis left outside the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, where he is being treated for bilateral pneumonia in Rome, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

A month of Pope Francis’s longest hospital stay with lenses focused everywhere he is not

 
People pray for Pope Francis in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, in Rome, Thursday, March 13, 2025, where the Pontiff is hospitalized since Friday, Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope receives cake and glad tidings on the 12th anniversary of his papacy, marked in the hospital

 
Tourists and locals walk along St. Peter's Square on a rainy day at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

The pope’s improving condition confirmed with a chest X-ray, Vatican says

 
Nuns attend a Rosary prayer for Pope Francis, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Francis follows Vatican spiritual retreat as doctors say he’s no longer in imminent danger

 
A nun attends a Rosary prayer for Pope Francis, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

In his own words: Pope Francis has long been up front about his health problems and eventual death

 
A Vatican Swiss guard stands prior to a mass for the world of volunteers led by delegate of Pope Francis Cardinal Michael Czerny in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Doctors declare Pope Francis no longer in imminent danger due to pneumonia, but remains hospitalized

 
Locals and tourists walk along a main street near St. Peter's Basilica, background, in Rome, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Pope thanks volunteers for ‘miracle of tenderness’ as another Holy Year event passes without him

 
Pope Francis, right, hugs Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI prior to the start of a meeting with elderly faithful in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Sept. 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)

In his own words: Pope Francis’ views on resigning changed over time

 
A faithful carries a cross in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Friday, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

The Pope has now been in the hospital for 3 weeks battling double pneumonia. How serious is that?

 
FILE — In this Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023 file photo, Pope Francis followed by Cardinal Fernando Vergez Alzaga, right, President of Vatican City Governorate and Sister Raffaella Petrini, Secretary General of Vatican City Governorate arrives in the Paul VI Hall at The Vatican. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

A day-by-day look at Pope Francis’ hospitalization for pneumonia, at the 3-week mark

 
Locals and tourists walk along a main street near St. Peter's Basilica, background, as the sun sets in Rome, Italy, Friday, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Pope Francis hits 3-week mark of hospitalization after giving world a sign of his frailty

 
Catholic nuns listen to a recorded message from Pope Francis during a prayer of the Rosary for Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A weak Pope Francis thanks people for their prayers in audio message

 
A woman prays for Pope Francis at Almudena Cathedral in Madrid, Spain, on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Clutched by the global faithful and draped on candles and statues, rosaries abound for Pope Francis

 
Mexican painter Roberto Marquez places a painting of Pope Francis he made outside the Agostino Gemelli hospital in Rome, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

The pope has increased his physical therapy and marked the start of Lent in the hospital

 
A votive statue of Italy's patron saint, St. Francis of Assisi, left, is on display among other religious items at a shop in Assisi, Italy, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Who’s St. Francis, whose love for the poor, creation, and peace inspires Pope Francis?

 
FILE- Pope John Paul II appears for the first time after surgery at the window of the Gemelli Hospital in Rome on July 26, 1992. (AP Photo/Massimo Sambucetti, File)

John Paul II’s hospital stays at Gemelli were much longer than Pope Francis’ so far. Here’s a look

 
Cardinal Arthur Roche prays during a rosary prayer for Pope Francis' health in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope stable with no new respiratory crises but will sleep with ventilation mask, Vatican says

 
Riad Zaheda reads a book in his room, in Rome, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Syrian refugee family that Pope Francis brought to Rome prays for him as they build new life

 
Catholic faithful attend a nightly rosary prayer for the health of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Francis off mechanical ventilation entirely, signaling he’s overcome risks from respiratory crisis

 
Transgender Moira Camila Garnica poses for a portrait outside the Beata Vergine Immacolata parish church in Torvaianica, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Transgender women near Rome pray for Pope Francis, celebrate his outreach

 
People attend a rosary prayer with Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez held for the health of Pope Francis in St Peter's Square at The Vatican, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Pope Francis stable a day after respiratory crisis, spent ‘long periods’ off noninvasive ventilator

 
People walk at dusk in St Peter's Square at The Vatican, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

Life imitates art as Pope Francis fights pneumonia while ‘Conclave’ heads into Academy Awards

 
Vice President JD Vance, speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2025, at the National Harbor, in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic, acknowledges the pope’s criticism of US immigration crackdown

 
A woman holds a candle as she attends a rosary prayer with Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez held for the health of Pope Francis in St Peter's Square at The Vatican, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Pope had coughing fit, inhaled vomit and now requires assisted ventilation, Vatican says

 
Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego, who was named in January as the archbishop of Washington, D.C. by Pope Francis, speaks during a news conference Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Cardinal McElroy calls for compassion in immigration policy as he prepares to lead in Washington

 
Catholic pilgrims from Mexico gather outside the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic where Pope Francis continues to be hospitalized in Rome, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Vatican says Pope Francis continues to improve but his prognosis remains guarded

 
Trumpeter Felice Carella is silhouetted as he plays the song Ave Maria for Pope Francis in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, where the Pontiff has been hospitalized since Feb. 14, in Rome, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Pope Francis shows further slight improvement as he battles pneumonia, the Vatican says

 
Sebastian Padrón, from La Plata, Argentina, poses in his ice cream in Rome, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Paolo Santalucia)

Pope Francis’ friends around Rome pray for him as he fights pneumonia