The head of Pope Francis’s medical team has shared intimate details about the pontiff’s last hours.
According to Dr Sergio Alfieri, who treated the Pope earlier this year for pneumonia at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, Francis passed away quickly on the morning of Easter Monday at the age of 88. In interviews published Thursday, Dr Alfieri confirmed that the Pope died without significant suffering and that no medical intervention could have saved him.
Dr Alfieri said he was urgently called to the Vatican around 5:30am. When he arrived roughly 20 minutes later, he found Francis conscious, eyes open, but unresponsive.
“I entered his room and he had his eyes open,” Alfieri told Corriere della Sera. “I checked his breathing—there were no issues. But when I called his name, he didn’t respond.”
At that point, Alfieri realised the gravity of the situation. “I knew there was nothing more to do. He was in a coma.”
In a separate interview with La Repubblica, Alfieri explained that although some officials suggested transferring the Pope back to hospital, it would have made no difference. “He would have died on the way,” he said. “A CT scan might have given a clearer diagnosis, but not a solution. It was one of those strokes that takes you in an hour.”
Despite nearly dying of pneumonia earlier in the year, Francis’s death was unexpected. Just a day before, he appeared in St. Peter’s Square to greet Easter crowds, seemingly on the mend.
After returning to the Vatican on March 23 following 38 days in hospital, the Pope had been advised to rest for two months. Yet, he continued working—meeting U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Easter Sunday and visiting a prison on April 17.
Still, Alfieri insisted that Francis followed his doctors’ guidance. “He was the Pope,” he said. “For him, resuming work was part of healing. He was never in danger.”
The doctor last saw Francis on Saturday afternoon. “He was very well,” Alfieri recalled, saying he had even brought the Pope his favourite pie. “I’m doing very well,” the Pope had told him. “I’ve started working again, and I enjoy it.”
Dr Alfieri said Francis remained committed to serving till the end. “He wanted to be Pope up to the last moment. And he didn’t let us down.”
In his final conversation with Alfieri, Francis shared one regret: missing the foot-washing ritual on Holy Thursday. “He was glad to have visited the prisoners, but he wished he could’ve washed their feet,” Alfieri said.
“‘This time I couldn’t do it,’ were the last words he said to me.”
