Pope Francis suffered a bronchial spasm on Friday that resulted in him breathing in vomit, requiring non-invasive mechanical ventilation, in a setback in his two-week battle against pneumonia, the Vatican said.
The 88-year-old pontiff responded well, with a good level of gas exchange, and remained conscious and alert at all times, said a spokesman.
The development marked a setback in what had been two successive days of increasingly upbeat reports from doctors treating Francis at Rome’s Gemelli hospital since February 14th.
The episode, which occurred in the early afternoon, resulted in a “sudden worsening of the respiratory picture”. Doctors decided to keep his prognosis as guarded.
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The Vatican has made alternative plans for Ash Wednesday next week, making clear the pope still has a long road ahead.
Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, a Vatican official and former vicar of Rome, will preside over the March 5th ceremony and procession that inaugurates the church’s solemn Lenten season leading up to Easter in April.
In their Thursday evening bulletin, doctors said the pontiff’s clinical condition had confirmed that he was improving.
The pope was alternating the high-flow supplemental oxygen he had been receiving by a nasal tube with a mask in a sign of improved respiratory function.
Additionally, the pope left his hospital room to go to his nearby private chapel to pray, while continuing with respiratory physiotherapy and work, said the Vatican.
For the second day in a row, doctors avoided saying the pontiff was in a critical condition, suggesting he had overcome the most acute phase of the infection. But given the complexity of his lung infection, they said “further days of clinical stability are needed” before they revise their prognosis officially and say he is out of danger.
The pope has been in hospital since his bronchitis worsened.
He has shown steady, albeit slight improvements since a respiratory crisis and kidney trouble over the weekend sparked fears for his life. The improvements beat back speculation of imminent death, resignation or a conclave and signalled that he remains in charge.
Prayers continue to pour in from around the world for the Pope.
Despite his improvements, the pope’s near-term upcoming calendar of events is being changed. The Vatican cancelled a Holy Year audience scheduled for Saturday and it remains to be seen if he would miss his Sunday noon blessing for the third consecutive week.
In past years, when the pope has battled bronchitis and influenza in winter, he curbed his participation in Ash Wednesday and Holy Week events, which call for the pontiff to be outdoors in the cold leading services, participating in processions and presiding over prayers in the solemn period in which the faithful commemorate Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection.
Beyond that, he has a few significant events coming up that he presumably would hope to keep if well enough. On April 27th, he is due to canonise Carlo Acutis, considered to be the first millennial and digital-era saint.
The Vatican considers the Italian teenager, who died of leukaemia in 2006 at the age of 15, an inspiration for young Catholics.
Another important appointment is the May 24th commemoration of the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea, Christianity’s first ecumenical council.
The spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Patriarch Bartholomew I, has invited Francis to join him in Iznik, Turkey, to commemorate the anniversary which he has called an important sign of reconciliation between the Catholic and Orthodox churches.
Before he became ill, the pope said he hoped to go, though the Vatican has not confirmed the trip.
– AP
