Rudy Giuliani fought back from a bout of pneumonia that was so dire a priest read his last rites before 'miraculously' he began to recover.
The former New York City mayor, 81, was breathing by himself and able to be taken off a ventilator on Monday, a well-placed source told The Daily Mail.
'He's a fighter,' Dr. Maria Ryan, Giuliani's doctor, told Fox News.
'The way he was yesterday in such a critical condition, he did have a priest come anoint him and all the prayers from around — it's like a miracle.'
Ryan said the man once known as 'America's Mayor' started to feel sick upon returning from a trip to Paris.
She said that after going to the hospital and being put on a ventilator, a Catholic priest was called to his bed to perform the last rites at the Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach.
However, Giuliani eventually started to improve and has returned to breathing independently and speaking. He was even able to communicate with his children Caroline and Andrew Giuliani.
Ryan added that she expects Giuliani to make a full recovery.
'This guy's got nine lives,' she said. 'Today he's doing much better.'
Rudy Giuliani has fought back from pneumonia so dire he was given last rites before turning it around on the road to a full recovery
Dr. Maria Ryan (pictured right), Giuliani's doctor and rumored girlfriend , said the man once known as 'America's Mayor' after the September 11, 2001 started to feel sick upon returning from a trip to Paris
A source stressed to The Daily Mail that Giuliani's condition remains serious and he may spend several more days in the waterfront Florida facility, a five-minute drive from Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence.
The former New York City mayor had contracted pneumonia on Sunday, which placed him in the hospital. He was reportedly in critical condition.
John Catsimatidis, a billionaire supermarket and media mogul and longtime friend of Giuliani's, said he learned the encouraging news Monday afternoon from a former close aide.
'He's talking, he's alert. To me, that's great news,' Catsimatidis said, according to the New York Post.
President Trump has praised Giuliani as a 'True Warrior' as well as 'the best mayor in the history of New York City, by far.'
'Rudy had a tough weekend,' Giuliani's business partner Tom von Essen said earlier.
Von Essen worked as the New York City Fire Commissioner during the 9/11 terrorist attacks when Giuliani was mayor.
'Today is an important day,' he added.
Giuliani held a livestream on his Facebook page on Friday night where he could be heard coughing
Ryan (pictured left) added that she expects Giuliani to make a full recovery
'Mayor Rudy Giuliani is recovering from pneumonia. On September 11, Mayor Giuliani ran toward the towers to help those in need, which later led to a diagnosis of restrictive airway disease,' Giuliani's spokesman Ted Goodman confirmed.
'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.'
The 81-year-old held a livestream on his Facebook page on Friday night during which he could be heard coughing.
As it started, he said: 'My voice is a little under the weather, so I won't be able to speak as loudly as I usually do.'
Giuliani famously campaigned with Trump and a group of Republicans to overturn the 2020 election results, citing unverified fraud that later opened him up to defamation suits he settled in court.
'Mayor Rudy Giuliani was the most transformative figure in the history of NY City politics,' former deputy FBI director Dan Bongino wrote.
'He pulled off an economic and public safety miracle in a relatively short amount of time, and the city rose from the dead. I worked for the NYPD during the end of his second term. It was the honor of a lifetime.'
In November of last year, Giuliani was pardoned by Trump, among other Republicans, for his role in trying to overturn the election against President Biden.
Rudy Giuliani at the 9/11 memorial in September
Giuliani remains at the Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach
The former NYC mayor gave an infamous speech outside the Four Seasons landscaping business in Pennsylvania as Trump desperately attempted to claw back the presidency.
In 2023, Giuliani filed for bankruptcy with staggering debts of $153 million owed to creditors, including two Georgia election workers he defamed.
Giuliani was elected New York’s mayor in 1993 after serving as one of the nation’s highest-profile prosecutors, taking on mobsters and crooked Wall Street traders.
He was celebrated for a widespread crackdown on crime using the 'broken windows' philosophy and implementing the controversial stop-and-frisk program.
Giuliani ran for the Senate in 2000 but abandoned his race against Hillary Clinton after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.
He ran for president in 2008 before dropping out and backing John McCain.