Utoo Radio with Other News Sources - February 19, 2025 - Pope Francis is facing serious health concerns after being hospitalized with severe bronchitis and has been forced to cancel public appearances.

The 88-year-old pontiff, who had part of a lung removed as a young man, has become increasingly fragile in recent years.

The Holy See press office has reported that the pope's bronchitis has advanced to a "polymicrobial infection" with a "complex clinical picture."

Francis has been suffering from intense pain and has privately expressed certainty he won't make it this time.

Doctors at Gemelli Hospital have barred him from delivering his regular morning Angelus sermon, which he has rarely missed, even when hospitalized.

He is now acting entirely on "doctors' orders."

As his health deteriorates, Francis has moved to complete key initiatives and appoint sympathetic figures to key posts, following a progressive-tinted papacy marked by bitter ideological divisions.

Since becoming pope in 2013, Francis has aimed to make the Church more inclusive, opening up key roles to women and LGBT+ people.

However, his efforts to put an end to rampant child abuse by clerics have produced mixed results.