Pope Francis diagnosed with mild kidney failure

Over the last few weeks, reports have broken regarding the declining health of Pope Francis.

He had been admitted to the hospital last week with flu-like symptoms, but his health is much worse than initially thought.

Over the weekend, it was reported that he had been diagnosed with mild kidney failure.

Declining Health

As we have reported before, the Pope has a long history of health issues, more so over the last few years.

He has been hospitalized several times as well as having taken a few nasty falls, one resulting in an injury to his arm, the other to his face.

This time, he had been admitted around Valentine's Day after having bronchitis, but his condition worsened, and recent tests have shown that the pontiff is now suffering from early stages of kidney failure.

Obviously, Catholics from around the globe have been sending the Pope message of encouragement, praying that he will get better.

On Sunday, the Pope thanked everyone for their concern, posting to X, "I have been particularly struck by the letters and drawings from children.

"Thank you for your closeness, and for the consoling prayers I have received from all over the world!"

Doctors have been very cautious in releasing information about the pontiff's health, stating, "The complexity of the clinical picture, and the necessary wait for drug therapies to provide some feedback, dictate that the prognosis remains reserved."

While everyone seems to be sidestepping the obvious here, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York stated that Catholics around the world were united "at the bedside of a dying father."

He added, "As our Holy Father Pope Francis is in very, very fragile health, and probably close to death."

Archbishop Rino Fisichella substituted for the pontiff to offer Sunday Mass at St. Peter's Basilica, where hundreds of deacons were also to be ordained.

The Archbishop stated, "Even though he is in a hospital bed, we feel Pope Francis close to us, we feel him present among us.

"And this compels us to make even stronger and more intense our prayer that the Lord will assist him in his time of trial and illness."

Pope Francis had been asked as recently as May 2024 if he would consider stepping down due to  his poor health. He stated at that time that as far as he could tell, his only issue was his knee, and that stepping down "never occurred to me."

Not it seems imminent that the 88-year-old pontiff will soon pass, leaving the Catholic Church to select a new leader, hopefully one that is not so political this time around.