Francisco has suffered two new episodes of respiratory failure and returns to mechanical ventilation

Last minute from the Vatican: the health of the Holy Father has suffered a setback on the afternoon of this Monday. Pope Francis who had remained reasonably stable in the last hours, has suffered two new episodes of acute respiratory failure, as reported by the Holy See in an urgent statement: “Today the Holy Father has presented two episodes of acute respiratory failure caused by an important accumulation of endobronchial mucus, creating a new bronchospasm crisis.”

Francisco, who has remained “always lucid, oriented and collaborator”, has been subjected to two bronchoscopies to aspire “abundant secretions” and, unfortunately, he has had to resume “non -invasive” mechanical ventilation that had already been removed for the sake of a small improvement.

The 88 -year -old pontiff is admitted to the Gemelli Hospital in Rome since February 14 by bronchitis with polymicrobial infection to which bilateral pneumonia joined. The forecast is still “reserved” and doctors remain very cautious in terms of their evolution.

The medical part of the morning was optimistic, highlighting that Pope Francis had slept all night, had had breakfast with appetite and began his daily treatment. On its bilateral pneumonia, the situation was “stable” and following “a natural evolution,” Vatican sources confirmed. He himself launched a private message from the hospital to the participants in the General Assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life, which organizes a seminar from March 3 to 5 about ‘The end of the world? Crisis, responsibilities, hopes’, and has urged all of them to “continue working with determination to achieve more effective global organizations” in our society.