Pope Francis suffers 2 episodes of “acute respiratory failure,” Vatican says, more than 2 weeks into hospitalization

The Vatican said Monday evening that Pope Francis had suffered “two episodes of acute respiratory failure” over the course of the day, which it said were caused by “significant accumulation of endobronchial mucus and consequent bronchospasm.”

The statement said doctors carried out two bronchoscopies to relieve his respiratory distress. 

“In the afternoon, non-invasive mechanical ventilation was resumed,” the Vatican added, noting that Francis remained alert and aware and that his prognosis after more than two weeks of hospitalization for bronchitis that deteriorated into pneumonia in both lungs remained “guarded.”

The pope, who is 88 and has a long history of pulmonary trouble, has struggled to get over this illness, leading to the longest hospitalization of his pontificate.

Before spending a restful weekend without any crises, Francis experienced a “sudden worsening of the respiratory picture” on Friday, the Vatican said, when he had a single “isolated crisis of bronchospasm,” which is when the muscles that line the airways in the lungs tighten.

That episode caused the pope to inhale vomit, the Vatican said in a statement. Francis was treated with noninvasive mechanical ventilation and had a good response, the Vatican said Friday.

Not long before the Vatican revealed his Friday bronchospasm, Vatican sources told CBS News the pope’s health had improved, saying he was not in critical condition after exactly two weeks in hospital.

The bilateral pneumonia diagnosis given to the pope on February 18 would have been a worrying turn for any patient of his age, but it was of particular concern for the leader of the Catholic Church.

This is the pope’s fourth hospitalization since he took over leadership of the Roman Catholic Church in 2013. He underwent significant abdominal surgery in 2021 and then had another procedure in 2023 to repair scar tissue and an abdominal hernia. He had been hospitalized briefly for treatment for pneumonia earlier that year.

As a young man in his home country of Argentina, Francis had part of one lung removed following a pulmonary infection, which left him vulnerable to respiratory illnesses.

The Vatican announced earlier this month that Francis wouldn’t celebrate Sunday Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica this year, due to his ongoing recovery. The pope’s ongoing hospitalization comes just ahead of the start of the annual Christian observance of Lent. The 40-day Lenten period begins on Ash Wednesday, which this year falls on March 5.

Just before Easter last year, Francis declined to attend a Good Friday procession at Rome’s Colosseum in a bid to conserve his health, but the pope later led tens of thousands of worshipers in Easter celebrations.