Timeline of Pope Francis' hospitalization for pneumonia at the 1-month mark

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis was hospitalized on Feb. 14, after suffering a bout of bronchitis for weeks and after increasingly finding it hard to speak publicly. His condition soon developed into double pneumonia.

The 88-year-old pope, who had part of a lung removed as a young man, is overweight and sedentary, creating a complex health picture that has resulted in the longest hospitalization of his 12-year papacy.

Doctors this week lifted the guarded prognosis, indicating Francis is no longer in danger of immediate death from the lung infection. Caution remains due to his frailty, and doctors have given no indication of when he might be released.

Here are highlights of the longest hospital stay of Francis’ papacy, based on details provided by the Vatican.

Feb. 14

Pope Francis is hospitalized with bronchitis and a slight fever immediately following a morning of audiences. Doctors diagnose a respiratory tract infection.

Feb. 17

Pope Francis is diagnosed with polymicrobial (bacterial, viral and fungal) infection in the respiratory passages, marking a setback.

Feb. 18

An X-ray indicates Pope Francis has developed pneumonia in both lungs, marking another setback; cortisone and antibiotic treatments are confirmed.

Feb. 21

Pope’s doctors say at a news conference that the pope remains in critical condition and isn’t out of danger, but that his condition isn’t imminently life-threatening. Doctors say the pope has developed steroid-induced diabetes that is being treated. Prognosis is guarded.

Feb. 22

Pope in critical condition after experiencing a respiratory crisis and requires high-pressure oxygen through nasal tubes, in the first mention of assisted breathing. Francis also receives two blood transfusions after tests show signs of anemia and low platelet count that are later resolved. Setback.

Feb. 23

Doctors report that the pope has gone into onset of slight kidney failure, in a setback. No repeat of the respiratory crisis, but he remains in critical condition.

Feb. 26

The mild renal failure has regressed, in an improvement.

Feb. 28

Pope suffers isolated coughing spasm during which he inhaled vomit, in a setback requiring noninvasive aspiration. Responded well. Placed on a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask to pump supplemental oxygen into his lungs. Prognosis remains guarded.

March 3

Two acute bronchospasm episodes in a setback requiring bronchoscopies, or a camera-tipped tube with a device to remove mucus plugs, yielding abundant secretions. Pope remained alert, oriented and collaborative during maneuvers. Prognosis remains guarded.

March 6

Pope records an audio message that is broadcast to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square thanking them for their prayers. His voice is weak and he’s out of breath.

March 10

Doctors declare Francis is no longer in imminent danger of death from pneumonia, but keep him in the hospital for further treatment

March 12

Chest X-ray confirms improvement in pope’s condition.

March 13

Pope marks 12th anniversary of papacy from the hospital, where he receives a cake and hundreds of messages and drawings with good wishes. No medical update.

March 14

Pope marks one month in the hospital. Vatican announces it will cease issuing morning updates about the pope's rest overnight and will issue fewer medical bulletins in a sign of the continuing improvements in the pope's medical condition.

People pray for Pope Francis in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, in Rome, Thursday, March 13, 2025, where he is hospitalized since Friday, Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

A marble statue of late Pope John Paul II is backdropped by the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, where Pope Francis was hospitalized Friday, Feb. 14, after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened and is receiving drug therapy for a respiratory tract infection. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Catholic worshippers gather to pray the rosary for Pope Francis' health in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Pope Francis blesses the faithful during his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall, at The Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

LONDON (AP) — The last surviving pilot of the Battle of Britain has died, severing the last living link to the few thousand young men who fought the Nazi air force to a standstill amid fears that Britain might be forced to capitulate during the early months of World War II.

John "Paddy'' Hemingway, an Irish national who enlisted in the Royal Air Force before the war began, died Monday at his home in Dublin, the RAF said. He was 105.

Hemingway was just 20 years old when he and his comrades in the Royal Air Force took to the skies to fight off wave after wave of Nazi aircraft that sought to pound Britain into submission during the summer and autumn of 1940.

In August of that year, when German bombers were relentlessly targeting airfields in southern England and the outcome of the battle was still in doubt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously stood before the House of Commons to pay tribute to the young pilots who were defending Britain.

“The gratitude of every home in our island, in our empire, and indeed throughout the world, except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the world war by their prowess and by their devotion,” Churchill said. “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”

Britain has ever since revered “the few” for saving the country during its moment of peril. The Battle of Britain Memorial on the English Channel coast lists the names 2,941 Allied airmen who took part in the battle.

During dogfights with German aircraft in August of 1940, Hemingway was twice forced to bail out of his Hurricane fighter, once landing in the sea off the east coast of England before returning to his squadron to resume the fight, the RAF said. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for gallantry in 1941.

But Hemingway dismissed suggestions of bravery and heroism, saying he was a pilot and had a job to do.

“The world was at war, and you couldn’t go somewhere and say, ‘I’m at peace and I don’t fight wars,’” he said in a 2020 interview with the BBC.

“The main skill was luck. You had to be lucky, no matter how good you were. For instance, my boss, Dickie Lee, was the best pilot I’ve every seen, but he was shot down and killed. So he had no luck. I had bags of luck.”

Born July 17, 1919, in the Rathmines area of Dublin, Hemingway enlisted in the RAF in 1938.

He first saw action during the Nazi invasion of France, when he flew fighter cover for retreating British forces.

Following the Battle of Britain he worked as a controller, helping to direct the RAF’s response to German attacks. At the end of the war, Hemingway served as commander of No. 43 Squadron, which flew Spitfires in northern Italy.

Hemingway remained in the RAF after the war and retired in 1969 after more than 30 years of service.

FILE - The last known Battle of Britain pilot, Group Captain John 'Paddy' Hemingway DFC celebrating his 105th birthday at the British Embassy in Dublin, Ireland, July 17, 2024. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP, File)

FILE - The last known Battle of Britain pilot, Group Captain John 'Paddy' Hemingway DFC celebrating his 105th birthday at the British Embassy in Dublin, Ireland, July 17, 2024. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP, File)

FILE - The last known Battle of Britain pilot, Group Captain John 'Paddy' Hemingway DFC celebrating his 105th birthday at the British Embassy in Dublin, Ireland, July 17, 2024. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP, File)