VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis, who has been in the hospital for just over two weeks fighting double pneumonia, had a peaceful night and was resting on Saturday after a health setback the day before, the Vatican said.
The 88-year-old pontiff experienced a breathing crisis on Friday, renewing concerns over his well-being.
In a one-line statement, the Vatican said the night had passed peacefully. The next detailed medical bulletin is expected at around 7 p.m.
On Friday, the Vatican said Francis suffered an isolated crisis, including “vomiting with inhalation and a sudden worsening of the respiratory condition.”
He needed aspiration to help remove the vomit from his airways, the Vatican said, and also required non-invasive, mechanical ventilation – meaning that he was not intubated, which would have necessitated sedation.
A man prays at the statue of John Paul II at the Gemelli University Hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized in Rome on March 1, 2025. Pope Francis, hospitalized for two weeks with pneumonia in both lungs, spent a peaceful night after suffering a breathing crisis, the Vatican said on Saturday.
The Vatican official said his team of doctors was expected to take 24-48 hours to evaluate how the episode would impact the state of his clinical condition.
Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14 with severe respiratory problems that swiftly degenerated into double pneumonia – a serious infection in both lungs that can inflame and scar them, making it difficult to breathe.
He last suffered what the Vatican described as a “prolonged asthma-like respiratory crisis” on Feb. 22, but there had not been any repeat crises until Friday.
Francis has suffered several bouts of ill health over the last two years and is prone to lung infections because he had pleurisy as a young adult and had part of one lung removed.
People pray under the rain at the statue of John Paul II at the Gemelli University Hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized with pneumonia, in Rome on March 1, 2025.
The pope has not been seen in public since entering hospital, his longest absence from view since his papacy started in March 2013. His doctors have not said how long his treatment might last.
(Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Valentina Za and Barbara Lewis)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pope Francis still hospitalized, had peaceful night after setback
