VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Francis remained “stable” in the hospital Tuesday and will have planned use of an oxygen mask overnight while his condition still remains “reserved” as sources say he is not out of danger.
MAR 4 evening: Pope Francis remained “stable” today with no “episodes of respiratory failure or bronchospasm”
He has no fever, & was “cooperating with therapy and oriented.”
He had “high-flow oxygen therapy and respiratory physiotherapy.”
Tonight he will have “as planned,… https://t.co/U0yG8cRRHS pic.twitter.com/6KZJWEJ9Uj
— Michael Haynes 🇻🇦 (@MLJHaynes) March 4, 2025
In the nightly statement regarding the health of Pope Francis, the Holy See Press Office stated Tuesday that:
Today the clinical conditions of the Holy Father remained stable. He did not experience episodes of respiratory failure or bronchospasm.
He remained apyretic [without fever], always alert, cooperating with therapy and oriented.
This morning he underwent high-flow oxygen therapy and respiratory physiotherapy.
Tonight, as planned, non-invasive mechanical ventilation will be resumed until tomorrow morning. The prognosis remains uncertain.
During the day he alternated between prayer and rest and this morning he received the Eucharist.
Notably, Francis did not have to use the “non-invasive mechanical ventilation” – the oxygen mask over his nose and mouth – that he required after Monday’s two crises.
However, equally significant is that he is now described as having a planned use of the mask overnight: a development notable for the fact that previously he has only used it after a respiratory crisis.
With his condition only described as “stable” amid the “complex” medical scenario, Vatican sources stated earlier today that this means Francis is not out of danger despite not being officially described as “critical.”
Vatican sources close to the Pope – though speaking under condition of anonymity due to not being authorized to speak about his condition – commented that the Pope’s double pneumonia is continuing according to an expected trajectory, though stressed that his condition remained “complex.”
Also key to observe is that the Vatican’s statements have not mentioned the Pope doing any work since Thursday, February 27. February 28 saw him experience a respiratory crisis during the afternoon – the customary period for his work activities in hospital. Saturday and Sunday passed without any mention of work, and Monday saw him experience two episodes of “acute respiratory failure.”
Though not highlighted, it could be that this explicit lack of mention of any work activity is indicative of a larger deterioration in the Pope’s health that has so far not been officially commented on.
The Pope was taken to the Gemelli Hospital in Rome on Friday, February 14, for bronchitis, and since then was diagnosed with double pneumonia in what was described as a “complex” medical scenario, and subsequently a “critical” state. He is now no longer described as being “critical,” though his longer-term diagnosis has not been released.
On Sunday, February 23, he showed signs of “mild” kidney failure, though in subsequent days doctors said they were not concerned by the symptoms.
On February 28, he suffered a respiratory crisis, and on March 3 he had two episodes of “acute respiratory failure.”
It has become the longest hospital stay of his pontificate, with the previous longest being 10 days during the summer of 2021.
(For full background, see LifeSiteNews’ coverage here.)