Following the death or resignation of a pope, the Catholic Church elects a new pope through an election by cardinals who meet in a conclave Pope Francis remained hospitalized Wednesday, five days after he was admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital with a respiratory infection.

Reports of Pope Francis' critical health condition have put global media outlets including CNN, CBS and NBC, in high gear to descend upon Rome.

Surgeon Sergio Alfieri spoke reassuringly of Pope Francis’s condition in English on Feb. 21, but another doctor in Italian warned the infection could be fatal if it spread to the pope’s blood.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the results of tests conducted in recent days and Monday indicate the pope is suffering from a “polymicrobial respiratory tract infection” that has necessitated a further change in his drug therapy.

Pope Francis, who is receiving treatment for a respiratory tract infection, had a peaceful night in Rome's Gemelli hospital, Italy's ANSA news agency reported on Sunday.

Pope Francis has been admitted to hospital after a case of bronchitis persisted for more than a week, a Vatican spokesman said on Friday.

Chairs are prepared in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, ahead of a rosary vigil prayer for the health of Pope Francis who is in critical

A special mass was held for Pope Francis at the Vatican in Rome, where officials say he showed ‘slight improvement’.

After spending eleven days in the hospital, Pope Francis remains in critical, but stable condition as he fights a complex respiratory infection and bilateral pneumonia, with doctors still not offering an overall prognosis.

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis, hospitalized in critical condition with double pneumonia, was well enough to meet with the Vatican secretary of state to approve new decrees for saints and call a formal meeting to set the dates for their canonization, the Vatican said Tuesday.

Pope Francis' condition remains critical but stable and he was able to do some work while still in the hospital with double pneumonia, the Vatican said in a Tuesday evening update.