Hospitalized former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was visited by a priest set to administer last rites before he had a drastic health improvement, his doctor said.
“He’s a fighter — the way he was yesterday in such a critical condition, he did have a priest come anoint him,” Dr. Maria Ryan told Fox News on Monday, May 4. “And all the prayers from around — it’s like a miracle. This guy’s got [nine] lives … today he’s doing much better.”
News broke on Sunday, May 3, that Giuliani, 81, was hospitalized in Florida and in critical condition. On Monday, his spokesperson, Ted Goodman, said the politician was being treated for pneumonia.
Ryan told Fox News on Monday that Giuliani experienced breathing difficulties after returning from a trip to Paris, resulting in him being hospitalized and placed on a ventilator. The doctor said Giuliani is now breathing on his own.
Goodman said Monday that Giuliani is now in “critical but stable condition,” citing long-term health issues stemming from his time as NYC mayor amid the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
In an X post on Monday, Goodman shared more details about Giuliani’s hospitalization, writing, “Mayor Rudy Giuliani is recovering from pneumonia. On September 11th, Mayor Giuliani ran toward the towers to help those in need, which later led to a diagnosis of restrictive airway disease.”
“This condition adds complications to any respiratory illness, and the virus quickly overwhelmed his body, requiring mechanical ventilation to maintain adequate oxygen and stabilize his condition,” Goodman wrote.
“He is now breathing on his own, with his family and primary medical provider at his side.,” Giuliani’s spokesperson added. “Mayor Giuliani is the ultimate fighter — as he has demonstrated throughout his life — and he is winning this battle.
“His family deeply appreciates the outpouring of love and support. The mayor believes in the power of prayer, and we are feeling that strength today,” Goodman added.
Giuliani’s latest health setback follows his involvement in a car accident in Manchester, New Hampshire, in August 2025. The former mayor was a passenger in a vehicle that was struck from behind by another car.
“He was diagnosed with a fractured thoracic vertebrae, multiple lacerations and contusions, as well as injuries to his left arm and lower leg,” his security guard, Michael Ragusa, said in a statement at the time.
Giuliani was elected mayor of New York City in 1993 and gained global attention for his response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.
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