ROME — Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni paid a visit to Pope Francis in the Gemelli Hospital in Rome Wednesday, bringing well wishes from the government and the Italian people.
Following the 20-minute visit, Meloni — Italy’s first female prime minister — said the pontiff was “alert and responsive” and described the encounter as warm and lighthearted.
“We joked around as always. He has not lost his proverbial sense of humor,” Meloni said in a statement.
The 88-year-old pontiff was admitted to the hospital last Friday and has been diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs and a severe bronchial infection, allegedly leading the Swiss Guard to begin rehearsing the pope’s funeral.
Meloni’s visit was the first confirmed meeting with an outside official since the pope was admitted to the hospital on Friday. Until now, only his personal aides and medical team had seen him.
Francis reportedly told his close aides that he may not survive pneumonia as doctors insist his condition remains “complex.”
In 2015, Francis suggested that his pontificate would be quite brief, but it has now extended to nearly twelve years.
“I have the feeling that my pontificate will be brief — four or five years, even two or three. Two have already passed. It’s a somewhat strange sensation,” the pope told Mexican broadcaster Televisa.
“I feel that the Lord has placed me here for a short time,” said the first pope from the New World.
The post Pneumonia-Ridden Pope Francis Receives Hospital Visit from Italy’s Giorgia Meloni appeared first on Breitbart.
