"He’s a fighter," a doctor said of the former mayor's critical health condition
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NEED TO KNOW
- Rudy Giuliani had a priest visit him at a hospital to read his last rites while critically ill, according to a report
- The 81-year-old former mayor of New York City had pneumonia and was placed on a ventilation system
- A spokesperson for Giuliani called him “the ultimate fighter” in an update
Rudy Giuliani reportedly had a priest visit him at his hospital bedside after falling critically ill following a trip to Paris.
"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, adding that the priest also performed last rites.
"And all the prayers from around — it’s like a miracle. This guy’s got 9 lives, today he’s doing much better," she added.
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Ted Goodman, a spokesperson for the 81-year-old former mayor of New York City, announced in a statement posted to social media on Sunday, May 3, that Giuliani was hospitalized in "critical but stable condition.”
In an update on Monday, Goodman said the 9/11 terrorist attacks left the politician and disbarred lawyer with lasting health complications.
“Mayor Rudy Giuliani is recovering from pneumonia,” Goodman wrote Monday morning. “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,” he continued.
In two separate updates on Monday, Goodman said that Giuliani was breathing on his own. A video post mirrored his written statement.
“Mayor Giuliani is the ultimate fighter—as he has demonstrated throughout his life—and he is winning this battle,” Goodman said, thanking those who offered prayers. He added that Giuliani "remains in critical but stable condition.”
Prior to Goodman's update, a source close to the Trump administration told PEOPLE Giuliani's condition concerned those around him, adding, "He isn't in good shape."
Less than a year ago, Giuliani was seriously injured in an August 2025 car accident in New Hampshire.
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He was hospitalized and diagnosed with a fractured thoracic vertebra, multiple lacerations and contusions, as well as injuries to his left arm and lower leg.
“The mayor is in great spirits. He’s a beast. He survived 9/11,” his head of security, Michael Ragusa, shared in a statement to Instagram at the time, referencing when Giuliani served as the mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001.
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Following the accident, President Donald Trump, 79, said he would award Giuliani with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
“As President of the United States of America, I am pleased to announce that Rudy Giuliani, the greatest Mayor in the history of New York City, and an equally great American Patriot, will receive THE PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM, our Country’s highest civilian honor,” he wrote in a Sept. 1 post on Truth Social.
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