Pope Francis spent final day working, despite doctors' orders

Joshua McElwee - Reuters - 21/04
After spending more than five weeks in hospital for a bout of double pneumonia, doctors told Pope Francis he needed two months' rest - but the leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics kept working right to the end.
  • Doctors had ordered two-months rest after surviving pneumonia
  • Pope balanced convalescence with duties, senior cardinal says
  • 'He made sure we had a pope for Easter,' says biographer
VATICAN CITY, April 21 (Reuters) - After spending more than five weeks in hospital for a bout of double pneumonia, doctors told Pope Francis he needed two months' rest - but the leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics kept working right to the end.
On Easter Sunday, the day before his death aged 88, Francis made his first prolonged public appearance since February, entering St. Peter's Square in a white popemobile to greet cheering crowds.

Sign up here.

And for only the second time since leaving hospital on March 23, the pope also met on Sunday with foreign leaders, welcoming U.S. Vice President JD Vance to his residence for a brief encounter.
"I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill," Vance wrote on X. "May God rest his soul."
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and his family also had a brief meeting with Francis on Sunday.
"It was a brief moment, but profoundly touching, a meeting of kindness, smiles, and blessing," Plenkovic said in a statement on Monday.
For someone in convalescence after a prolonged illness, Francis was working himself hard.
Cardinal Michael Czerny, a senior Vatican official who was close to Francis, said: "Absolute rest isn't healing," adding: "He balanced convalescence with his being the Bishop of Rome."
Czerny said the pope was devoted to his work leading the world's Catholics.
Citing an instruction Francis often gave ...
[Short citation of 8% of the original article]