The Vatican has revealed that Pope Francis is in critical condition after experiencing a severe asthmatic respiratory crisis, necessitating high-flow oxygen therapy.
The pope, who has been hospitalized for a week due to pneumonia and a complex lung infection, was also said to have received blood transfusions after tests revealed low platelet counts linked to anaemia.
“The Holy Father continues to be alert and spent the day in an armchair although in more pain than yesterday. At the moment the prognosis is reserved,” a statement from the Vatican reads.
Medical officials said Francis’ condition remains precarious, with sepsis posing the greatest risk.
“Sepsis, with his respiratory problems and his age, would be really difficult to get out of,” said Sergio Alfieri, head of medicine and surgery at Rome’s Gemelli hospital.
He added that the 88-year-old pontiff is fully aware of his condition.
“The English say ‘knock on wood,’ we say ‘touch iron.’ Everyone touch what they want. But this is the real risk in these cases: that these germs pass to the bloodstream,” Alfieri said.
“He knows he’s in danger. And he told us to relay that.”
Francis, who has chronic lung disease, was admitted to Gemelli hospital on February 14 after his bronchitis worsened.
Doctors diagnosed a viral, bacterial, and fungal respiratory tract infection, followed by pneumonia in both lungs.
The Vatican has also denied claims that Francis might step down due to his health.
Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, dismissed the rumours as “useless” and insisted that the focus should remain on the pope’s recovery, according to the publication.
“On the other hand, I think it is quite normal that in these situations uncontrolled rumours can spread or some misplaced comment is uttered,” Parolin said.
“It is certainly not the first time it has happened. However, I don’t think there is any particular movement, and so far I haven’t heard anything like that.”
