Pope ‘did not need mechanical ventilation on Sunday’ after respiratory crisis

Pope Francis remained in stable condition and did not need any mechanical ventilation on Sunday, the Vatican said.

It was a sign that his respiratory function was improving as he continues his recovery from double pneumonia and a respiratory crisis.

The 88-year-old pope did continue to receive high flow supplemental oxygen after Friday’s coughing episode, which sparked fears of a new infection.

Doctors again said his prognosis remained guarded, meaning he was not out of danger.

Candles and flowers for Pope Francis (Andrew Medichini/AP). PA Media

Francis, who earlier on Sunday had a visit from the Vatican No 2 and No 3 officials, also attended Mass, rested and prayed, the Vatican said in its evening bulletin.

Francis continued his recovery from double pneumonia, but again skipped his weekly noon blessing to avoid even a brief public appearance from the hospital.

Instead, the Vatican distributed a message from the pope in which he thanked his doctors for their care and well-wishers for their prayers, and prayed again for peace in Ukraine and elsewhere.

“From here, war appears even more absurd,” Francis said in the message, which he drafted in recent days from the Gemelli hospital, the Vatican said.

Francis said he was living his hospital admission as an experience of profound solidarity with people who are sick and suffering everywhere.

“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,” Francis said in the text.

“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.”

It marked the third weekend in a row that Francis has cancelled the Sunday appointment delivering the Angelus prayer in person. He could have done so from his 10th floor hospital suite at the Gemelli hospital if he were well enough.

But many signs indicated he was improving, especially after a respiratory crisis on Friday afternoon that resulted in him inhaling vomit during a coughing fit and raising the possibility of new infection.

“The night was quiet, the pope is still resting,” the Vatican said in its Sunday update. Francis was up, read the Sunday papers and had coffee and breakfast while continuing with his therapy.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin and his chief of staff, Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, also called on the pope on Sunday morning, their second visit since Francis’ February 14 hospital admission, according to the Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni.

There were no details of what was discussed, but the mere visit suggested Francis’ condition was stabilising.

Doctors on Saturday reported that Francis was in stable condition, with no mention of him being critical, and managed to take “long periods” of time off the noninvasive mechanical ventilation he needed to recover after Friday’s respiratory crisis.

The 88-year-old pope had a “good response” in his gas exchange levels even while off the ventilator mask on Saturday and only using high-flow supplemental oxygen, the Vatican said.

He had no fever or signs of elevated white blood cells, which would signal his body was fighting a new infection.

The fact that Francis was able to use just high-flow oxygen for long periods, without any significant effect on the levels of oxygen in his blood, was a sign his respiratory function was improving.

Doctors were cautious however and kept his prognosis as guarded, meaning he was not out of danger. He was eating and drinking and continued his respiratory physiotherapy, and spent 20 minutes in his private chapel down the hall on Saturday, the Vatican said.

The pope, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has lung disease and was admitted to Gemelli on February 14 after a bout of bronchitis worsened and turned into a complex pneumonia in both lungs.