Pope Francis rested during peaceful night after respiratory crisis

Pope Francis rested during a peaceful night after a respiratory crisis and blood transfusions, the Vatican said on Sunday.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni’s one-line statement did not mention if Francis was up or eating breakfast.

The brief update came after doctors said the 88-year-old pope, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, was in a critical condition.

On Saturday he suffered a prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis while being treated for pneumonia and a complex lung infection.

The pope received “high flows” of oxygen to help him breathe.

He also received blood transfusions after tests showed low counts of platelets, which are needed for clotting, the Vatican said in a late update.

The statement on Saturday also said that the pontiff “continues to be alert and spent the day in an armchair although in more pain than yesterday”.

Doctors said the prognosis was “reserved”.

Doctors have said Francis’ condition is touch and go, given his age, fragility and pre-existing lung disease, and that the main threat facing him is if the infection enters the bloodstream, a serious condition known as sepsis.

Francis, who has chronic lung disease and is prone to bronchitis in winter, was admitted to Gemelli hospital on February 14 after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened.

Doctors first diagnosed the complex viral, bacterial and fungal respiratory tract infection and then the onset of pneumonia in both lungs.

They prescribed “absolute rest” and a combination of cortisone and antibiotics, along with supplemental oxygen when he needs it.

Meanwhile, the Vatican hierarchy went on the defensive to tamp down rumours and speculation that Francis might decide to resign.

There is no provision in canon law for what to do if a pope becomes incapacitated.

Francis has said that he has written a letter of resignation that would be invoked if he were medically incapable of making such a decision. The pope remains fully conscious, alert, eating and working.

The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, gave a rare interview to Corriere della Sera to respond to speculation and rumours about a possible resignation.

It came after the Vatican issued an unusual and official denial of an Italian media report that said the cardinal and the pope’s chief canonist had visited Francis in the hospital in secret.

Given the canonical requirements to make a resignation legitimate, the implications of such a meeting were significant, but the Vatican denied that any such meeting occurred.