02 March 2025 , 18:26
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Pope Francis’s health appears to be improving further after he suffered a ‘respiratory crisis’ on Friday.
The Vatican has said the pope didn’t require any mechanical ventilation throughout the day on Sunday – but his prognosis is still guarded, meaning he is not out of danger.
Francis was visited by Vatican No 2 and 3 officials on Sunday, and he also attended Mass, rested, and prayed.
He shared a message through Vatican officials thanking doctors for their care and well-wishers for their prayers.
Praying for peace in Ukraine and elsewhere, he said: ‘From here, war appears even more absurd.
‘I feel in my heart the “blessing” that is hidden within frailty, because it is precisely in these moments that we learn even more to trust in the Lord.
‘”At the same time, I thank God for giving me the opportunity to share in body and spirit the condition of so many sick and suffering people.’
The pope, aged 88, spent ‘long periods’ off his ventilator on Saturday, which means he was on less intense high-flow supplemental oxygen.
Pope Francis experienced a ‘sudden worsening’ of his condition on Friday as he tries to recover from his two-week battle against double pneumonia.
He ‘inhaled vomit’ after suffering a bronchial spasm, a negative update after two successive days of upbeat reports from doctors treating him at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.
The episode, which occurred in the early afternoon, resulted in a ‘sudden worsening of the respiratory picture’.
But the Vatican said the pope had responded well to the setback and remained conscious and alert at all times.
Pope Francis has been at Gemelli Hospital since February 14, battling both double pneumonia and the early stages of kidney failure.
The Vatican cancelled a Holy Year audience scheduled for Saturday, and Francis missed his Sunday noon blessing for the third week in a row.
Alternative plans have already been made for Ash Wednesday next week, with Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, a Vatican official and former vicar of Rome, presiding over the ceremony and procession on March 5.