ROME (NCC News) — The Vatican announced on Monday that Pope Francis had suffered two more acute respiratory crises, which required him to be put back on a noninvasive medical ventilator. The 88-year-old has been battling pneumonia for almost two weeks, and doctors declined to update his status.
Doctors were forced to manually extract “copious” amounts of mucus from his lungs via two bronchoscopies, which utilizes a camera-tipped tube going down the airways and sucking out any excess fluid. The Vatican clarified that this was not a new infection but rather a new reaction to the original.
People around the world have been waiting for the Vatican’s daily updates throughout the pope’s 17-day hospitalization, without any public sightings of him and limited written messages. On Sunday, the Vatican released Francis’ Angelus message, where he thanked the public for their support. He then prayed for Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan and Kivu, which are all dealing with serious conflicts.
“From here, war appears even more absurd,” Francis said.
The Vatican made clear that even with this setback, Francis still remains alert and able to cooperate with medical personnel at the Agosto Gemelli Polyclinic. The Vatican is expected to continue its daily updates through the Holy See Press Office’s website and social media channels.