Pope Francis came so close to death while in hospital with pneumonia that doctors had to choose whether “to let him go, or push forward”, the head of the pontiff’s medical team said.
Francis, 88, spent more than five weeks at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, where he was treated for pneumonia in both lungs, before being discharged on Sunday. He suffered four breathing crises during his stay in hospital, the most critical episode being on 28 February, when he inhaled his vomit.
