Pope Francis, who the day before dying had the “hippocratic face”. Here’s what it is and when it manifests itself

Sharp nose, infossible eyes, built -in temples, a leather of the tense and dry face combined with a bruised complexion. These are the signs of the so -called “hippocratic facies”, the hippocratic face, so called in the street of the first doctor who formulated his existence: the Greek Hippocrates, in fact.

The same signals were clearly visible also on the face of Pope Francis, when during the celebration of Holy Easter on April 20, a day demanding his death, he had shown himself to the faithful of St. Peter’s Square for what would have been his last farewell.

In fact, all these signals would represent the typical face of the sick close to death, as Ippocate himself described in his Prognosticalso specifying that «… if there is no improvement within [un determinato periodo di tempo]it must be understood that this sign heralds death ».

Which cases appears the “Hippocratic face”

The appearance of these facial characteristics has been associated not only with advanced stage tumors, as highlighted by Professor Mark A. Marinella in his article On the hippocratic facies Published in the Journal of Clinical Onclology, in which it highlights that oncologists frequently meet this expression in patients in terms of death, but also to trauma, cardiac insufficiency, respiratory and, as observed in the classic text Practice of medicine Written by William Osler – Canadian physicist, as well as one of the four founders of the John Hopkins Hospital – also to cases of cheering fever and peritonitis. In the latter case, the hippocratic face is in fact also called abdominal facies or Peritonitic facies.

To cause this expression is the relaxation of the facial muscles and the reduction of blood flow in the peripheral parts of the body. To date, it represents one of the characteristic signs to which a doctor can resort to making a diagnosis.

Pope Francis during the celebration of Easter 2025

Andreas Solaro/Getty Images

The Hippocratic face of Pope Bergoglio on Easter day could therefore represent a signal, although not supported by critical conditions on a respiratory level, after the hospitalization that lasted 38 days at the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome for a serious respiratory disease, which in a couple of cases had also made to fear for its survival. Despite the critical issues, the therapies had made effect and on his last day of life the pontiff showed publicly without the noselli for oxygen therapy, to indicate the fact that the respiratory conditions had improved.

At 5.30 the following morning, however, illness – diagnosed as cerebral stroke, coma and cardiovascular collapse irreversible by Professor Andrea ArcangeliDirector of Health and Hygiene of the State of the Vatican City – which at 7.35 am inexorably led him to death.