Doctor: Pope declined artificial ventilation

Pope Francis According to his personal physician, stipulated in the weeks before his death that he wants to do without artificial ventilation. « During his last stay in the hospital, he expressly asked that under no circumstances would intubation be done, » reported the surgery professor Sergio Alfieri of the daily newspaper « La Repubblica » (Thursday). Already at an earlier stay in 2021, he asked to « avoid hopeless therapy in the event of the case ».

Intubation is the insertion of a hose into the trachea, over which a patient is then artificially ventilated. Alfieri treated the head of the Catholic Church this spring during its 38-day stay in the Gemelli Hospital in Rome.

The last hours before death

Because of his pneumonia over a hose, Francis was supplied with oxygen, but not intubated. Even until shortly before his death, he still had cannulas in his nose. The Argentinian died on Easter Monday at the age of 88 the consequences of a stroke in his residence in the Vatican, the Casa Santa Marta. The body is currently laid out in St. Peter’s Basilica.

In the interview, Alfieri also reported on the very last hours of the Pope on Monday. « At 5 a.m. the Holy Father woke up to drink a glass of water. He rolled on the side, and the nurse noticed that something was wrong, » said the doctor. « He had trouble reacting. The Vatican’s doctor on duty was called. They called me around 5:30 a.m. and I was on site within a quarter of an hour. I found it with oxygen and an infusion. »

Doctor: Pope died « at home » as desired

Then he listened to the lungs. « She was clean, without rattling noises. But his eyes were open. But he did not react to questions or the pain of the tilting. He was already in a coma. His pulse slowed down and his breathing slowed down. » Briefly was considered to move Francis to the hospital again. « But he would have died during transport. » Death was then officially found at 7.35 a.m.

The life of the Pope came to an end « without pain and at home », as Francis probably wanted, the doctor said. « In Gemelli he didn’t say: » I want to go back to Santa Marta. « He said: » I want to go home « . »

The medical doctor said about the stroke, of which Francis finally died: « It was one of these strokes that have gone within an hour. (…) Maybe a blood clot was formed and a blood vessel in the brain was closed. Perhaps there was also a bleeding. But something like that is more at risk – especially if they don’t move much. »