According to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Pope Francis was found unresponsive but breathing normally, with his eyes open, when his doctor arrived at the Vatican early Monday morning, reports Breaking News.
Dr Sergio Alfieri, who oversaw Francis’s five-week hospital stay for double pneumonia, had been monitoring the pontiff’s recovery since his return to the Vatican on March 23, where he was ordered to rest for two months.
At 5.30am on Monday, Francis’s personal health care assistant, Massimiliano Strappetti, alerted Dr Alfieri that the pope had suddenly fallen ill and required urgent medical attention, reports Breaking News.
The doctor arrived 20 minutes later.
“I went into his room, and he had his eyes open. I noted that he did not have respiratory issues, so I tried to call him but he did not respond,” Dr Alfieri told Corriere. He mentioned that the pope’s lungs were clear and he was receiving supplemental oxygen. “He also did not respond to stimuli, even painful ones,” reports Breaking News.
“In that moment, I understood there was nothing more to do. He was in a coma,” reports Breaking News.
Dr Alfieri explained that moving Francis back to the Gemelli hospital, where he had previously been treated for life-threatening respiratory infections, was deemed too risky.
Roughly two hours after becoming ill, Pope Francis passed away due to a stroke.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin arrived to recite the rosary alongside the papal household, Dr Alfieri told the Milan-based newspaper, reports Breaking News.
“I gave him a caress, as a farewell,” the doctor said, reports Breaking News.
Vatican News reported that Pope Francis managed to make a final gesture of farewell to Mr Strappetti after he first fell ill.
Dr Alfieri first became Francis’s surgeon in 2021, treating him for diverticulitis, and later advised the pontiff on diet.
“He had a big sweet tooth, and sometimes would go to the kitchen at the Santa Marta hotel for a midnight snack. He put on a dozen kilograms (nearly 30 pounds) too many. At times, I came off as too rigorous because he told me, ‘Remember to live with irony’,” reports Breaking News.
After enduring multiple severe respiratory episodes while hospitalized, Dr Alfieri remarked, “We knew he wouldn’t return to his former condition, and that the infection had left another scar on his lungs.”
Despite that, “he improved with physical therapy. I saw him on Saturday, and I found him in good shape. I didn’t think it would be the last meeting,” Dr Alfieri shared with la Repubblica, reports Breaking News.
Though the pope had been instructed to rest and avoid large gatherings, Dr Alfieri said he understood Francis’s desire to get back to work.
“Going back to work was part of his treatment, and he never exposed himself to dangers,” Dr Alfieri said to Corriere, reports Breaking News.
On Sunday, Pope Francis appeared in St Peter’s Square, even taking a long drive through the Easter crowd of 50,000 people in the popemobile, stopping multiple times to bless children.
He also insisted on welcoming healthcare workers from the Gemelli hospital to the Vatican before Easter, despite Dr Alfieri recommending that they wait until June after his full recovery.
“I have the clear sensation now that there were a series of things he felt he had to do before dying,” Dr Alfieri told Corriere, reports Breaking News.
“We knew he wanted to return home to be pope until the last instant, and he didn’t disappoint us,” reports Breaking News.
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