Doctors said it would take a day or two to evaluate how and if the Friday afternoon episode impacted Francis’ overall clinical condition. His prognosis remained guarded, meaning he wasn’t out of danger.
In its morning update Saturday, the Vatican said the 88-year-old pope didn’t have any further respiratory crises overnight: “The night has passed quietly, the pope is resting.” He had coffee in the morning for breakfast, suggesting that he was not dependent on a ventilation mask to breathe and was still eating on his own.
In the late Friday update, the Vatican said Francis suffered an “isolated crisis of bronchial spasm,” a coughing fit in which Francis inhaled vomit, that resulted in a “sudden worsening of the respiratory picture.” Doctors aspirated the vomit and placed Francis on noninvasive mechanical ventilation.
The pope remained conscious and alert at all times and cooperated with the maneuvers to help him recover. He responded well, with a good level of oxygen exchange and was continuing to wear a mask to receive supplemental oxygen, the Vatican said.
Francis had no further crises during a quiet night, and does not have a fever, the sources said, adding that he can eat solid foods.
But they said his medical picture remains complex and his prognosis has not been established after Friday’s setback.
The episode of breathing difficulty on Friday was complicated by vomiting, some of which the pope aspirated, the Vatican said. Medical staff treated the aspiration issue before putting him on mechanical ventilation, it said. A Vatican source told CNN that Francis is not intubated, but he is wearing a mask.
“The night passed peacefully, the pope is resting,” the Holy See Press Office said in its latest update on the pope’s health on Saturday morning local time. The Vatican added that the pontiff had “remained alert” during Friday’s episode.
A spokesperson later noted that the pope is not considered out of danger at this point. The Vatican source told CNN that doctors expect to know more about his condition in the next 24-48 hours.
Francis was first admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital two weeks ago, after being plagued by a string of lung-related medical struggles, including bronchitis and then pneumonia. His current hospitalization is his fourth, and now longest, stay since he became pope in 2013.
The pontiff has suffered from lung-related issues for much of his life. As a young man, he suffered from severe pneumonia and had part of one lung removed.
The Vatican has been releasing twice daily updates on the pope’s health. On Thursday, it said that Francis’ condition was “improving” but his prognosis remained unclear.
The Argentinian leader’s schedule has been cleared to accommodate his intensive medical treatment.
Earlier on Friday, the Vatican announced that the pope will not lead next week’s Ash Wednesday service, marking the start of Lent, for only the second time in his 12-year papacy. A cardinal is expected to lead the service instead.
On Friday night while praying for the pope, Argentinian Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández said: “Certainly it is close to the Holy Father’s heart that our prayers be not only for him, but also for all those who, in this particular dramatic and suffering moment of the world, bear the heavy burden of war, sickness, and poverty.”
