Pope Francis, hospitalized for two weeks, suffered a potentially serious setback Friday, the Vatican said — a bronchial spasm that resulted in him inhaling vomit. It added that he had responded well to treatment and remained conscious and alert at all times.
Doctors said it would take 24 to 48 hours to determine whether the crisis has worsened the condition of the pope, who was being treated for pneumonia in both lungs and infections, the Vatican said. His doctors have always said that Francis is not out of danger and that the overall situation is complex.
The bronchial crisis Friday afternoon was an isolated incident, the Vatican said. It said that as a result, he required “noninvasive mechanical ventilation” — meaning he was not intubated, which requires sedation.
Francis is now using a mask covering his mouth and nose to help him breathe. The Vatican said Francis was cooperating “with therapeutic maneuvers” and was in “good spirits.”
The 88-year-old pope was admitted to a hospital two weeks ago with bronchial problems that developed into pneumonia in both lungs, as well as other complications. He had a respiratory crisis last Saturday that he appeared to have overcome, and medical bulletins in recent days were cautiously upbeat.
“It’s a setback,” Austen Ivereigh, Francis’ biographer, wrote on the social platform X, formerly Twitter. While he urged others to put the news “in perspective” and consider that the pope was alert and responsive, he acknowledged: “I was getting too confident. Please keep up prayers.”
Others shared his concern.
“Given his age, and given that he is in such a state, we must be worried,” the Rev. Felicien Abengalo, a priest in Rome, said Friday. “His illness is not a minor illness.”
“We are worried,” said Rosa Busà, 66, who stopped by St. Peter’s Square on Friday during a vacation. “We love Pope Francis very much.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
