Pope Francis stable but will be on ventilator overnight

Pope Francis was described by doctors as being in a stable condition today following additional respiratory difficulties yesterday.

He continues to use periodic ventilation and his prognosis remains unclear.

In a March 4 statement, the Vatican said the Pope’s condition throughout the day “remained stable”.

“No episodes of respiratory failure presented, nor of bronchospasm,” it said, referring to previous spasms the Pope experienced on Feb. 28 and on March 3, in which the bronchi, the tubes connecting the lungs to the windpipe, seized and tightened, making it difficult to breathe.

In both cases, his respiratory tract had to be suctioned, first after he ingested his own vomit, and later due to a buildup of mucus that blocked his bronchi.

The Pope does not have a fever, and was described as being “always vigilant, collaborative with his therapies and oriented”.

He spent today alternating between rest and prayer after receiving the Eucharist in the morning.

The update comes after the Pope experienced two episodes of acute respiratory failure yesterday due to an accumulation of mucus in his respiratory tract, which caused a bronchospasm requiring him to be put back on non-invasive mechanical ventilation.

However, the Vatican said today that the Pope was taken off of the ventilator this morning and resumed use of high-flow oxygen administered through the nose, as well as his antibiotic therapy.

Admitted Feb. 14 for treatment of a complex respiratory infection and double pneumonia, the Pope has been receiving high-flow oxygen since Feb. 22, when he experienced a prolonged respiratory crisis.

The Vatican’s March 4 statement said Pope Francis will be put back on a non-invasive mechanical ventilator “as scheduled” for Tuesday night and will continue to use it until Wednesday morning.

Given the precariousness of his condition, doctors have said his overall prognosis is still “guarded”, meaning he is not out of danger yet.

Due to the Pope’s ongoing hospitalisation, his March 5 Ash Wednesday procession and Mass will be celebrated in his place by Italian Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, major penitentiary of the Vatican’s Apostolic Penitentiary.

Despite the Pope’s absence, members of the Roman Curia are still scheduled to participate in their spiritual exercises in spiritual communion with the pontiff from March 9-14, with all cardinals, archbishops, bishops and lay employees of the curia and Vatican governorate invited to participate.

Curia members continue to pray a rosary for Pope Francis’s health and recovery nightly in St. Peter’s Square. Tonight’s rosary is scheduled to be led by British Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Liturgy.

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Photo: Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost leads rosary prayers for the health of Pope Francis in St Peter’s Square in Vatican City, 3 March 2025. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images.)

The post Pope Francis stable but will be on ventilator overnight first appeared on Catholic Herald.

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