The Vatican, though, made alternative plans for Ash Wednesday next week, making clear Francis still had a long road ahead. Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, a Vatican official and former vicar of Rome, will preside over the March 5 ceremony and procession that inaugurates the church’s solemn Lenten season leading up to Easter in April.

Pope Francis suffered an isolated coughing fit on Friday that resulted in him inhaling vomit and requiring non-invasive mechanical ventilation, the Vatican said in relaying an alarming setback in his two-week long battle against double pneumonia.

Pope Francis suffered an isolated coughing fit on Friday that resulted in him inhaling vomit, requiring non-invasive mechanical ventilation, the Vatican said in relaying a setback in his two-week long battle against double pneumonia.

The Vatican is making alternative plans for Ash Wednesday next week as Pope Francis recovers from pneumonia. ROME — Pope Francis reached the two-week mark in his recovery from pneumonia Friday as doctors suggested he had overcome the most critical phase of the infection but held out on declaring him out of danger entirely.

A priest holds a vessel of ashes as Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, celebrates Ash Wednesday Mass at the Basilica of Santa Sabina in Rome March 5, 2025. Pope Francis, who is hospitalized,

Cardinals and bishops arrive at Santa Sabina Basilica in Rome, Wednesday, March 5, 2025, to attend a mass presided over by Cardinal Major Penitentiary Angelo De Donatis on Ash Wednesday.