Pope Francis, 88, was resting Monday morning, his 10th day at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital for a complex lung infection that led to the early stages of kidney insufficiency, according to the Vatican.
“The night passed well, the pope slept and is resting,” the Vatican said in a statement.
It is unclear if he was awake and eating breakfast.
Francis was admitted to the hospital on Feb. 14 after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened. Doctors first diagnosed the complex viral, bacterial and fungal respiratory tract infection and subsequently the onset of pneumonia in both lungs.
POPE FRANCIS SHARES WRITTEN MESSAGE WHILE CONTINUING HOSPITALIZATION
Pope Francis greets faithful during the weekly General Audience at the Paul VI Hall on January 10, 2024, in Vatican City, Vatican. (Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
Late Sunday, doctors said blood tests revealed “early, slight kidney insufficiency” but that it remained under control. The doctors said Francis remained in critical condition but had not experienced any further respiratory crises since Saturday evening.
Francis, who had part of one lung removed when he was younger, was receiving high flows of supplemental oxygen, and received two blood transfusions on Sunday to increase hemoglobin levels. Doctors said his prognosis was guarded.
The pope was alert and responsive on Sunday and attended Mass.
Francis’ condition is touch-and-go, given his age, fragility and pre-existing lung disease, doctors said. The main threat to Francis, doctors warned, is sepsis, a serious infection of the blood that can arise as a complication of pneumonia.
Pope Francis is helped by his aide Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza, left, as he walks with a cane to his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at The Vatican on June 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
There has been no indication of any onset of sepsis as of Monday morning.
Monday is Francis’ 10th day in the hospital, matching the longest hospitalization of his papacy. He spent 10 days at Gemelli Hospital in 2021 after he had 13 inches of his colon removed.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan said Sunday in New York that the Catholic faithful were united “at the bedside of a dying father,” an acknowledgment of Francis’ short time left that church leaders in Rome have not said publicly.
POPE FRANCIS HAD PEACEFUL NIGHT’S REST AT HOSPITAL FOLLOWING RESPIRATORY CRISIS, VATICAN SAYS
Pope Francis leads his traditional Wednesday General Audience at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, March 8, 2023. (Stefano Costantino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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“As our Holy Father Pope Francis is in very, very fragile health, and probably close to death,” Dolan said in his homily from the pulpit of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Dolan later told reporters he hoped and prayed that Francis would “bounce back.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
