Pope Francis has bilateral pneumonia: "Complex clinical picture"

The clinical picture of Pope Francis is "complex, the Pontiff has bilateral pneumonia .

The Vatican Press Office reported this in a statement: "The laboratory tests, the chest X-ray and the clinical conditions of the Holy Father continue to present a complex picture," it reads.

"The control chest CT scan that the Holy Father underwent this afternoon, prescribed by the Vatican health team and the medical team of the Fondazione Policlinico Gemelli , demonstrated the onset of bilateral pneumonia that required further pharmacological therapy ," the note continues. "The polymicrobial infection, which arose in the context of bronchiectasis and asthmatic bronchitis, and which required the use of antibiotic cortisone therapy , makes the therapeutic treatment more complex."

Despite the not so positive picture, Pope Francis "is in good spirits" , the Vatican Press Office reports. This morning Bergoglio "received the Eucharist and, during the day, alternated rest with prayer and reading texts . He is grateful for the closeness he feels at this moment and asks, with a grateful heart, that we continue to pray for him".

(Online Union)