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Pope Francis is in critical condition and his “prognosis remains guarded” as he experienced a respiratory crisis Saturday morning requiring oxygen and blood transfusions, the Vatican said Saturday night.
The 88-year-old pontiff’s condition deteriorated after he had another “restful night” at Gemelli Hospital in Rome where he has been since Feb. 14 and is being treated for double pneumonia.
“The condition of the Holy Father continues to be critical,” the press offices said. “Therefore, as explained yesterday, the Pope is not out of danger. This morning, Pope Francis experienced an asthma-like respiratory crisis of prolonged intensity, which required the administration of high-flow oxygen.”
The office added Saturday’s blood tests also revealed thrombocytopenia, which is associated with anemia and required the administration of blood transfusions.
France remains alert and spent the day in an armchair, “although he is more uncomfortable than yesterday” the Vatican said.
On Saturday morning, the Vatican said he was “responding to therapy.
On Friday night, two doctors told journalists they believed the pope would be hospitalized for “at least” the entirety of the next week and though he is not “in danger of death” he’s also not fully “out of danger.”
Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the head of the team taking care of Francis, said Francis is not attached to a ventilator, although he is still struggling with his breathing and consequently keeping his physical movements limited.
Dr Luigi Carbone, the vice director of the Vatican’s healthcare service, spoke with Alfieri for 40 minutes.
Doctors noted their greatest fear is the risk that germs in the pope’s respiratory tract might enter his bloodstream, causing sepsis.
Francis has been going to chapel during the day, according to the doctors.
Even after being released from the hospital, his chronic respiratory issues will remain.
The pope has been susceptible to lung infections since he was 21 when he developed pleurisy and had part of his lung removed. Since then, he has been hospitalized several times and had abdominal surgery in 2023.
Francis was admitted to Gemelli Hospital to undergo testing and treatment initially for bronchitis. While he was successively treated for that, on Tuesday he was diagnosed with double pneumonia.
The pope has received messages from religious leaders, political figures, friends, faithful around the world and the children in the same hospital.
The bishops of the United States have published a special prayer for Pope Francis on their website.
In Francis’ homeland, Argentina, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva, issued a call for prayers. “In this way, we express our love for Pope Francis and ask God to grant him strength, restore his health, and sustain him in the mission entrusted to him,” he wrote in a letter.
The sermon to be delivered at a mass celebrating the Jubilee of Deacons scheduled for Sunday at St. Peter’s Basilica has been prepared by Francis, the Vatican Press Office said Saturday.
The homily will be read by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization and Vatican organizer of the Holy Year on behalf of the pontiff.
Fisichella will preside over the three-day celebration of Jubilee of Hope starting Friday, which includes 4,000 deacons known as servants and 2,000 others. They came from more than 100 countries.
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