Critically-Ill Pope Had A Good Night, Says Vatican

Pope Francis, in hospital in a critical condition with pneumonia in both lungs, passed a good night and was resting, the Vatican said Monday.

The 88-year-old pope, the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church since 2013, was admitted on February 14 with breathing difficulties.

“The night passed well, the pope slept and is resting”, the Vatican said. This is the longest hospitalisation of in Francis’s papacy.

The 88-year-old pope, the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church since 2013, was admitted on February 14 with breathing difficulties.

READ ALSO: Global Prayers For ‘ Critically ‘ Sick Pope Francis

The Vatican issued a first-ever warning for his condition on Saturday night, warning that his condition was urgent after initially being diagnosed with bronchitis, which eventually led to pneumonia in both lungs.

On Sunday it said he continues to receive “high-flow” oxygen through a nasal cannula, and blood tests demonstrated an “initial, mild, renal failure, currently under control”.

Francis is alert but “the complexity of the clinical picture, and the need to wait for the pharmacological treatments to have some effect, mean that the prognosis remains reserved”, it concluded.

The Marche University Hospital’s anaesthesia and intensive care unit’s head of Abele Donati reported daily to the Corriere della Sera that the presence of sepsis in the early stages “could be a signal.”

“It is the body’s response to an ongoing infection, in this case of the two lungs”, he said.

Professor Sergio Alfieri, leading the medical team treating the pope at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, warned at a press conference on Friday that “the real risk in these cases is that the germs pass into the blood”, which could result in sepsis, a life-threatening condition.

Francis’s continued hospitalisation has sparked widespread concern, with Catholics around the world praying for his recovery.

Additionally, it has fueled rumors that he might resign.

He has always left the door open to following his predecessor, Benedict XVI, who in 2013 became the first pope since the Middle Ages to resign.

However, he has repeatedly stated that it was inappropriate.

Source: Channels TV