Has Pope Francis Been Discharged from Hospital? Fact Emerges

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 4 years of experience in fact-checking.

Rome, Italy - A Facebook page, Mr. Ultimate TV, said Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State, has been discharged from the hospital.

The page which has 3,300 followers claimed that the ailing religious figure is back on his feet.

The post on Friday, February 28, reads:

“BREAKING NEWS: Pope Francis has been discharged from hospital. Glory to God Almighty.”

The post was accompanied by a 35-second clip which showed the Pope (real name Jorge Mario Bergoglio) with a walking stick amid cheers from people.

As of the time of this report on Tuesday evening, March 4, the post has garnered 1.8 million views, more than 1,500 comments, and over 8,000 reactions.

Several commenters on the post believed the ‘news’.

For example, Marites Asensi wrote:

Read also

Pope Francis attends mass in hospital chapel as Vatican gives important update about his health

“Thank You Lord Jesus Christ for the strength of Pope Francis. You are an amazing healer of all times. Our gratitude and thanksgiving for you my God,my Jesus, my Savior Viva Jesus Viva Maria.”

Grace Pineda Cruz commented:

“Thank you very much, Lord for recovery of Pope Francis.”

Rosalinda Salazar Geli said:

“Thank you Lord for giving Pope Francis the strength that He needs! He is already back to normal so we are very happy to see Pope Francis alive and kicking!”

But is it true that Pope Francis has died? Legit.ng checked.

Checks by Legit.ng showed that as of Tuesday evening, March 4, Pope Francis is still hospitalised.

The post which claimed that the Pope has been discharged is fake.

Pope Francis is still a patient at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, undergoing treatment for double pneumonia. He has spent over 10 days at the medical facility.

Read also

After Pope reportedly tells aides he may die, new details emerge about his health days later

If the pope is discharged, the Vatican's health department head and the cardinal camerlengo, will formally confirm it. Nothing official concerning his purported discharge as of now.

Read more on Pope Francis:

• Pope Francis takes one action as he senses he is closer to death by the day
• “I may not survive this time”: Pope Francis tells trusted aides before he was taken to hospital

Nigerian cleric speaks on Pope's health

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that a Catholic priest said he had read online where some people were making disparaging comments about the illness of Pope Francis.

The priest said such bad comments should not provoke Catholics to anger since there was no need for them to be angry.

In a Facebook post, Reverend Father John Chinenye Oluoma said if a Pope dies in the Catholic church, the organisation is not made weak but stronger.

Source: Legit.ng