According to a Vatican statement on Wednesday, Pope Francis enjoyed another “peaceful night”.
There was no additional update on the 88-year-old pontiff’s condition, which has been described as “critical” as he battles a lung infection that has caused the early stages of kidney failure.
The Vatican announced on Tuesday that Pope Francis had resumed work and was eating normally while being watched by physicians at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.
“The Holy Father’s clinical condition remains critical, but stationary… No acute respiratory episodes occurred and hemodynamic parameters continue to be stable,” The Vatican said.
“In the evening he carried out a scheduled control CT scan for radiological monitoring of bilateral pneumonia. The prognosis remains reserved.
“In the morning, after receiving the Eucharist, he resumed work.”
Doctors said on late Sunday he was in critical condition but he hadn’t experienced any further respiratory crises since Saturday.
Francis was receiving high flows of supplemental oxygen and, on Sunday, was alert, and responsive, and even attended mass in the hospital chapel on Sunday with those caring for him.
Doctors described Francis’ condition as touch-and-go, given his age, fragility and pre-existing lung disease. He had part of one lung removed as a young man.
They have warned that the main threat facing Francis is sepsis, a serious infection of the blood that can occur as a complication of pneumonia.
This is his fourth hospitalisation since his 2013 election, raising concerns about his increasingly fragile health.
Francis has other health problems as well. He uses a wheelchair, walker, or cane to move around his apartment and recently fell twice, injuring his arm and chin.
In 2021, he had 33cm of his large intestine removed due to a narrowing of the colon. Two years later, he underwent further abdominal surgery to remove scar tissue and repair a hernia.
During a 2023 hospital stay, he was diagnosed with what he later described as “acute and strong pneumonia in the lower part of the lungs”.
