Pope Francis health latest: Pontiff has ‘peaceful night’ as hospital stay nears three weeks

The Vatican has today confirmed that senior cardinal Michael Czerny (above) would stand in for the pope to lead mass this weekend marking the first Sunday of Lent.

The mass was also part of celebrations for the Jubilee 2025, a Holy Year led by the pope, dedicated this weekend to volunteers.

The Holy See said the event this year ‘takes on an even deeper meaning’ given the thoughts and prayers for Pope Francis during his recovery.

Clutching a bouquet of yellow roses, 79-year-old Carmela Vittoria Mancuso makes her way to Rome’s Gemelli hospital each morning and later heads to St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican in the evening to pray for the ailing Pope Francis.

The pontiff, who is 88 and has been battling double pneumonia, was admitted to Gemelli on February 14 and has not been seen in public since. The Vatican said on Thursday that he had spent another ‘tranquil’ night and was resting.

The diminutive Mancuso, who has attended daily mass in the hospital chapel since Francis was admitted, travels by train to join the faithful in St. Peter’s Square for a rosary prayer.

‘I have been on a continuous pilgrimage,’ said Mancuso, noting that February 28 was particularly moving as she heard that the Pope had an ‘isolated breathing crisis.’

I heard from others that (the Pope) had got worse. It was a moment of discouragement. I took part in the rosary where I was almost crying.

Mancuso first encountered Pope Francis in December 2017 at Santa Marta House, his residence in the Vatican City. She shouted, ‘Greetings, Holy Father’ as he greeted staff, and recalled that ‘as he made the toast, he turned around and said ‘Thank you.’

Since then, Mancuso has attended weekly Wednesday audiences with Francis, offering him yellow roses that symbolically match the Vatican flag.

Originally from Calabria in the south but now living in the Rome neighbourhood of Monteverde, Mancuso walks down the cobblestones of St. Peter’s Square for the evening prayer.

Pope Francis was resting on Thursday after a peaceful night during his third week of hospital treatment for double pneumonia, the Vatican said.

The pope has been sleeping with a non-invasive mechanical mask to guarantee that his lungs expand properly overnight and help his recovery. He has been transitioning to receiving oxygen with a nasal tube during the day.

The pope, 88, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, has been stable for two days after suffering two respiratory crises on Monday.

Doctors underlined that his prognosis remained guarded because of the complex picture.

The pope on Wednesday marked the start of Lent by receiving ashes on his forehead and by calling the parish priest in Gaza, the Vatican said.

He also added physical therapy to his hospital routine of respiratory therapy.

Angelo De Donatis leads a holy mass at the Church of Saint Sabina in Rome

Pope Francis was absent from his most high-profile engagement to date as Catholics across the world celebrated the start of Lent with an Ash Wednesday service.

Traditionally, the pope presides over the main service in Vatican City to mark 40 days preceding Easter – the holiest period in the Christian calendar – when Christians believe that Christ fasted in the desert.

Instead Italian Cardinal Angelo de Donatis led the procession on Rome’s Aventine Hill as he stood in for Francis, who took part in a blessing in the private suite reserved for popes on the 10th floor of the Gemelli.

Last night, the Vatican said the Pope remained in a stable condition without any ‘respiratory episodes’ following two separate crises earlier this week.

Thousands of worshippers also filled St Peter’s Square for the evening rosary which takes place every night while Francis is in hospital.

Pope Francis will tomorrow see his hospital stay in Gemelli Hospital (pictured) reach three weeks after he was admitted with bronchitis on February 14.

Catholics in the Vatican and across the world have made daily pilgrimages to the hospital to pray for his recovery with nightly vigils held in St Peter’s Square.

Here’s a look back at his admission and the key moments over the past three weeks:

• February 14: Francis returns to Gemelli for treatment of bronchitis and further diagnostic tests after feeling unwell for about 10 days which saw him struggle to read during services. Has remained on the 10th floor ever since.
• February 17: Doctors determine Francis is suffering from a polymicrobial respiratory tract infection, meaning a mix of viruses, bacteria and possibly other organisms had colonised his respiratory tract. His illness is described as ‘complex’.
• February 18: The Vatican announce Francis has developed pneumonia in both lungs following the results of a CT scan. New tests also showed Francis’ respiratory infection also involves asthmatic bronchitis, which requires the use of cortisone antibiotic treatment.
• February 22: The Pope’s condition is described as ‘critical’ as it emerges he has received blood transfusions following a ‘prolonged asthma-like respiratory crisis’. The blood transfusions were deemed necessary due to a low platelet count, associated with anaemia, the Vatican said.
• February 24: The Vatican says there has been a ‘slight improvement’ in his health although he remains in a critical condition. He is diagnosed with ‘mild’ kidney failure but the Vatican says it is not concerned by his ‘renal insufficency’
• February 28: It emerges Pope Francis suffered an ‘isolated’ breathing crisis in hospital following a ‘sudden worsening of his respiratory condition’. He received gas through a face mask to help him breathe.
• March 3: Pope Francis has today been put back on ventilation after suffering two new episodes of respiratory crises, the Vatican said.

Pope Francis was ‘resting’ Thursday after spending a ‘peaceful night’, as he nears three weeks in hospital with pneumonia, the Vatican said.

The 88-year-old had used an oxygen mask overnight for a third time, the Holy See said.

The pontiff was hospitalised on February 14 at Rome’s Gemelli hospital with breathing difficulties but is now battling pneumonia in both lungs.

Francis missed the formal Ash Wednesday celebrations in Rome marking the start of Lent, but took part in a blessing in the private suite reserved for popes on the 10th floor of the Gemelli.

Catholic faithful attend a prayer service in Peter’s Square, the Vatican, as Pope Francis continues his hospitalisation.

Women with ashes on their foreheads pray during a rosary prayer for Pope Francis’ health in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

A prayer service is held in St Peter’s Square, as Pope Francis continues treatment at Gemelli hospital, at the Vatican.

A picture of Pope Francis is seen during a Mass for the celebration of Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, in La Paz, Bolivia

A woman with an ash cross on her forehead attends Mass for the celebration of Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, in La Paz, Bolivia

A picture of Pope Francis is seen during a Mass for the celebration of Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, in La Paz, Bolivia

Pope Francis remained in a ‘stable condition’ today following two ‘respiratory crises’ he suffered in hospital earlier this week.

The Pontiff, 88, spent Wednesday in his armchair and called the Catholic parish in Gaza, the Vatican has said.

He also participated in a blessing and received the Eucharist for Ash Wednesday – the first day of Lent in the Christian calendar.

Read the full story below:

The Pope remained in a stable condition today without any ‘respiratory episodes’.

A spokesperson for the Vatican said:

‘The Holy Father remained stable today as well, without any episodes of respiratory insufficiency.

‘As planned, he utilized supplemental, high-flow oxygenation, and non-invasive mechanical ventilation will be resumed tonight.

‘The Holy Father increased his respiratory and active motor physiotherapy. He spent the day in his armchair.

‘Given the complexity of the clinical situation, the prognosis remains guarded.

‘This morning, in the private apartment located on the 10th floor, the Holy Father participated in the rite of the blessing of the Sacred Ashes, which were imposed on him by the celebrant. He then received the Eucharist.

‘Afterwards, he engaged in several work activities. During the morning, he also called Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of the Holy Family Church in Gaza.

‘In the afternoon, he alternated between rest and work.’

A 900-year-old book found in the Vatican Secret Archives claims to predict the year of Judgement Day.

That is the Christian belief of when Jesus returns to Earth to determine who will be saved and who will be damned, and a saint said it would happen in 2027.

Saint Malachy is credited with the 12th-century text, ‘Prophecy of the Popes,’ which contains a series of cryptic Latin phrases believed to describe every pope, beginning with Celestine II in 1143 and concluding with the current leader of Church, Pope Francis.

The Catholic Church opened the solemn Lenten season today without the participation of Pope Francis, who was in the third week of hospital treatment for double pneumonia.

Cardinal Angelo de Donatis took the pope’s place leading a short penitential procession between two churches on the Aventine Hill, and was to read a homily prepared for the pontiff marking Ash Wednesday.

In its latest update on Francis’ health, the Vatican said that the pope rested well overnight, waking up shortly after 8 a.m. after a second night sleeping with the ventilation mask.

Francis remained in stable condition, with a guarded prognosis, meaning he was not out of danger.

Cardinal de Donatis has been designated to take Francis’ place at Vatican celebrations, with a traditional service and procession in Rome.

On Ash Wednesday, observant Catholics receive a sign of the cross in ashes on their foreheads, a gesture that underscores human mortality.

It is an obligatory day of fasting and abstinence for Catholics that signals the start of Christianity’s most penitent season.

A Vatican insider has told how Pope Francis’ ongoing health battle is a ‘rollercoaster’ that is ‘very stressful’.

Doubts about his papacy are continuing his spread this week with the 88-year-old continuing treatment for double pneumonia at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.

One source told the AFP news agency, the longer Francis remains in hospital, the more it is affecting morale inside the Vatican.

There is a slowdown due to the fact that we do not know what tomorrow will bring. We live day-by-day, we do not take holidays. There are times when we are very afraid, others when we say to ourselves ‘he is getting back on track’. It is a rollercoaster, and it is very stressful.

The Vatican has been through periods like this before. Between May and August 1981, Pope John Paul II spent 77 days at the Gemelli after an assassination attempt.

The Swiss Guard, an armed force which handles the Pope’s security, has said the Vatican is going through a ‘period of dormancy’ while Francis is in hospital.

Insiders say activities behind the Vatican’s walls have slowed as the Catholic Church grapples with the uncertainty caused by the absence of Pope Francis.

‘We are at minimum service,’ Corporal Eliah Cinotti, spokesman for the Swiss Guard, told the AFP news agency.

‘Extraordinary services – masses, audiences, receptions of ambassadors and heads of state – are in free fall,’ he said, with cardinals stepping in to lead some masses, but most events cancelled.

‘It’s a period of dormancy’ that recalls ‘the end of Covid, when everything was running at a slow pace’, he added, referring to the coronavirus pandemic.

Here are the first photographs we can show you from outside Rome’s Gemelli Hospital where crowds have returned tp pray for Pope Francis.

Ambulance driver Angelo Pacelli places a message by his nephew

Well wishers pray near the statue of late Pope John Paul II

Many have left tributes including flowers, candles and messages

Pope Francis will miss a busy day in the Italian capital today.

He will miss celebrations Wednesday for the start of Lent, the 40 days preceding Easter – the holiest period in the Christian calendar – when Christians believe that Christ fasted in the desert.

The pope usually leads the main Ash Wednesday service, which start at 1600 GMT. In his absence, the mass will be presided over by Italian Cardinal Angelo de Donatis after a procession on Rome’s Aventine Hill.

Francis also missed Ash Wednesday celebrations in 2022, that time due to acute knee pain – one of a series of health woes that have afflicted the pontiff since his election in 2013.

The leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics has not been seen since his hospitalisation, with audiences cancelled and Francis missing three successive Sunday Angelus prayers – a first in his papacy.

As well as missing todayt’s Ash Wednesday service, Pope Francis was also supposed to attend a spiritual retreat this coming weekend with the rest of the Holy See hierarchy.

On Tuesday, the Vatican said the retreat would go ahead without Francis but in ‘spiritual communion’ with him.

The theme, selected weeks ago and well before Francis got sick, was ‘Hope in eternal life.’

Francis, who is not physically active, uses a wheelchair and is overweight, had been undergoing respiratory physiotherapy to try to improve his lung function.

Pope Francis may have ‘rested well’ overnight but his absence at the start of the Lent religious season has highlighted fears over the health of the 88-year-old.

The head of the Catholic Church will not preside over Ash Wednesday celebrations, which mark the start of Lent, the 40 days preceding Easter when Christ fasted in the desert.

The pope usually leads the main service, which will be held at 4pm UK time.

In his absence, the mass will be presided over by Italian Cardinal Angelo de Donatis, preceded by a procession on Rome’s Aventine Hill.

Francis also missed Ash Wednesday celebrations in 2022, that time due to acute knee pain – one of a series of health woes that have afflicted the pontiff since his election in 2013.

His health has regularly led to speculation, particularly among his critics, as to whether he could resign.

Francis has not been seen in public for almost three weeks and the last photos of him were from private audiences hours before his admission to hospital.

The Vatican has announced Pope Francis ‘rested well’ overnight after his condition improved on Tuesday.

A statement released by the Holy See press office reads:

The Pope rested well during the night and woke up shortly after 8am.

It comes as Francis misses the start of the major Catholic religious season Lent with Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, the former vicar of Rome, designated to take his place on Ash Wednesday.

Pope Francis has been staying in a special papal suite on the 10th floor of the Gemelli hospital, praying, doing some work and receiving colleagues, according to a Vatican source.

In a notable shift towards transparency compared to previous papacies, the Vatican has been providing twice-daily updates on his health.

The morning statement, normally one line on his night’s sleep, arrives to accredited reporters via Telegram and then is sent via email.

A more detailed medical bulletin arrives in the evening, describing the pope’s clinical progress.

Doctors said Francis himself had requested they be frank about his medical state.

Pope Francis, 88, has suffered three breathing crises since being admitted to hospital in Rome on February 14, but the Vatican last night said his condition was ‘stable’.

Here is what we know about the health of the Argentine pontiff, head of the Catholic Church and its almost 1.4 billion followers since 2013.

Francis was admitted to the Gemelli hospital initially for bronchitis, but this then developed into pneumonia in both lungs.

On February 22 the Vatican revealed he had suffered a ‘prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis’ which required him to receive ‘high-flow’ oxygen via a nasal cannula.

Francis also required blood transfusions for thrombocytopenia, a blood condition that can prevent clotting and lead to continued bleeding. Over the following days, he appeared to be getting slightly better.

Then on February 28 the pope suffered ‘an isolated crisis of bronchospasm’ – a tightening of the muscles that line the airways in the lungs – which caused ‘an episode of vomiting with inhalation’, the Holy See said.

He began ‘non-invasive mechanical ventilation’ – receiving oxygen through a mask, according to a Vatican source – but was nevertheless reported to be ‘in good spirits’.

On March 3 Francis suffered ‘two episodes of acute respiratory failure’ due to a ‘significant accumulation of endobronchial mucus and consequent bronchospasm’, the Vatican said.

In December 2024, the Pope was able to travel emission-free in his brand new Mercedez-Benz G-Class popemobile.

Mercedes have been the makers of the Vatican’s vehicles for almost 100 years, supplying the first Mercedez popemobile back in 1930.

After the death or resignation of a Pope, the new leader of the Catholic Church is elected through a papal conclave.

Around 15 or 20 days after a papal vacancy, all Cardinals under the age of 80 gather at St Peter’s Basilica to vote for the new Pope via an anonymous ballot – each Cardinal prays and drops a twice-folded slip of paper into a large chalice.

The result of the vote is then counted aloud. To win, a candidate must garner two-thirds of the vote.

When a cardinal receives the required two-thirds, he will be asked whether he accepts by the College of Cardinals.

If that winner obliges, he chooses a papal name and is dressed in papal vestments before processing out to the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to begin his tenure.

The current Pontiff will miss tomorrow’s Ash Wednesday service as he continues his recovery in Rome.

20 years ago, Saint John Paul II too missed an Ash Wednesday service while hospitalised at the Gemelli Hospital in the Italian capital. Instead, the former Pope presided over a mass at his ward.

Tomorrow, at Santa Sabina, Francis will be replaced by the current Penitentiary, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis for the celebration of the beginning of Lent.

This evening’s Rosary Prayer at St Peter’s Basilica for the good health of Pope Francis has commenced.

The service is being led by Cardinal Arthur Roche.

Nuns, Cardinals of the Vatican and thousands of well-wishers are in attendance.

The bronchospasms and breathing difficulties which Pope Francis suffered yesterday were not ‘unexpected,’ according to a Vatican source.

The Pope suffered two episodes of ‘respiratory crisis’ on Monday afternoon.

‘The general clinical picture is that of the past few days, the complex picture that gave rise to the crises yesterday afternoon remains,’ the source added.

An Italian physician specialising in the lungs has given his take on the current condition of Pope Francis.

Stefano Nardini, former president of the Italian Society of Pneumology, said

As always happens in these situations, the longer the acute state is prolonged, the more the organism weakens further. We are walking on a ridge

Immobility and ventilation are debilitating for the respiratory muscles and the airways. Even non-invasive ventilation is an inflammatory stimulus.

For this reason – he added – it would be important to wean him from non-invasive ventilation. The fact that he must be ventilated during the night is a worrying factor

Nuns and well-wishers have begun congregating at St Peter’s Basilica ahead of tonight’s prayer service.

The Pontiff was last pictured during a meeting with Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico at the Vatican on Valentine’s Day.

Just hours after the meeting, Francis was admitted to hospital with breathing difficulties.

The daily prayer for the health of the Pope at St Peter’s Basilica will begin in a little under an hour.

Cardinal Robert Prevost led last night’s service with a recital of the Rosary Prayer.

In their daily evening update, the Vatican has announced that the Pontiff has not suffered any further medical crises and is ‘alert, without fever, and cooperated with treatment.’

‘The clinical condition of the Holy Father today has remained stable,’ their statement read.

‘He has not experienced episodes of respiratory failure or bronchospasm. He has remained without a fever, always alert, cooperative with therapies, and oriented.

‘This morning he transitioned to high-flow oxygen therapy and underwent respiratory physiotherapy.

‘As scheduled, tonight he will resume non-invasive mechanical ventilation until tomorrow morning.

‘The prognosis remains guarded.’

‘During the day he alternated between spending time in prayer and at rest, and this morning he received the Eucharist.’

Amid the Pontiff’s current stay in hospital, the longest during his papacy, he is unlikely to ever pay another visit to Argentina, where he was born.

Francis has embarked on 45 foreign trips since becoming Pope in 2013, but never to his South American home-country.

There had been anticipation in Buenos Aires of a visit in early 2024 which never materialised.

Guillermo Marco, former spokesperson for the Pope, told the Independent: ‘He would have liked to (come) if he could have made a simple trip, let’s say, where he came to visit the people he loves and, I don’t know, celebrate a mass for the people.’

Millions of Argentinians continue to pray for the Pope both at home and in Rome. Earlier today, Argentinians were pictured gathering outside the Gemelli Hospital where the Pontiff is being treated.

Here’s the scene at St Peter’s Square, Vatican City, this afternoon ahead ot tonight’s Rosary Prayer recital.

Every night for the last week, crowds have gathered at St Peter’s Basilica to pray for the good health of the Holy Father amid his health struggles.

The Vatican’s daily evening update on the health of Pope Francis is expected to be released in the coming hour.

The latest update will come after a night where the Pontiff ‘rested well’ despite suffering two ‘breathing crises’ yesterday afternoon.

The 88-year-old Pope is enduring his eighteenth day at Rome’s Gemelli Hopsital in recovery from double pneumonia.

Here are the latest photographs from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital as people continue to pray for Pope Francis

*This story was originally published on February 26*

by Harry Howard, History Editor at MailOnline

It is a thriller about a conspiracy to rig the papal election that depicts both conservatives and progressives whispering in the corridors of the Vatican.

Conclave, an adaptation of the book of the same name by bestselling historical novelist Robert Harris, has just picked up four Bafta awards.

But now, with the real Pontiff gravely ill in hospital, attention is turning to who will be chosen to succeed 88-year-old Pope Francis I.

If you’re just joining us this afternoon, we have been reporting live updates on Pope Francis after the Vatican announced he suffered two respiratory crises in hospital on Monday

The Vatican are expected to deliver the next bulletin on the Pope’s condition this evening as well wishers continue to pray for his recovery outside Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.

Here’s what you need to know today:

• Pope Francis ‘slept through the night’ hours after it emerged he twice experienced acute respiratory failure while being treated for pneumonia
• The Vatican later confirmed the 88-year-old had stabilised enough to be taken off non-invasive mechanical ventilation and was receiving oxygen via a nasal tube to help him breathe
• Officials suggested the breathing scare was the normal result of the Pope’s response to infection, adding his blood tests were stable
• The Vatican has made plans to go ahead with Ash Wednesday with Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, the former vicar of Rome, chosen to replace Francis
• While a friend of the Pontiff has declared he is not ready to give up the papacy amid apparent open talks by cardinals to replace him amid his continuing illness

The official X account for Pope Francis has posted for the first time today after it emerged his condition worsened last night.

Pope Francis has spent 18 full days at Rome’s Gemelli hospital recovering from double pneumonia.

It’s by far the longest hospitalisation of his 12-year papacy, and there is no indication how long it may still last.

But it doesn’t come close to approaching the record-long stays of St John Paul II during his quarter-century pontificate.

John Paul spent so much time on the 10th floor papal suite that he referred to Gemelli as ‘Vatican III’ – a reference that beyond the primary seat of the papacy in Vatican City, the Polish pope also spent considerable time at the papal summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo, hence Vatican II.

Francis hasn’t used Castel Gandolfo at all or spent any time outside the Vatican on vacation, making Gemelli increasingly his home away from home. He has started signing off documents that he issues from there ‘From the Gemelli Polyclinic.’

A friend of Pope Francis has claimed he won’t succumb to pressure to resign his papacy amid speculation he could follow his predecessor and quit the Vatican.

Senior cardinals are apparently discussing the possibility that Francis may step down much like Benedict XVI did in 2013.

Francis has been continuing his work from hospital and is showing no signs of relinquishing the papacy at this moment in time.

Elisabetta Pique, a personal friend and biographer of Francis, said he doesn’t have any plans to resign.

Pique, a correspondent for the Buenos Aires-based La Nacion newspaper, said:

He’s always been a fighter. He doesn’t give in under pressure The more pressure they put on him, the more likely he won’t give in.

Speculation about the pope’s possible resignation started a few days after his hospitalisation. Italian Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, a retired prelate not known as close to the pope, suggested in a February 20 radio interview that Francis might renounce the papacy.

French Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, sometimes listed as a possible successor to Francis, when asked about the possibility of resignation at a Vatican press conference, responded: ‘Everything is possible.’

Cardinal Angelo de Donatis prays outside the Gemelli hospital

The Vatican has made plans to go ahead with Ash Wednesday this week amid the Pope’s absence.

Francis’s treatment comes as the Vatican prepares for Lent, the solemn period leading up to Easter on April 20.

As it is, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, the former vicar of Rome, has been designated to take Francis’s place this week on Ash Wednesday, which opens Lent with a traditional service and procession in Rome.

The pope was also supposed to attend a spiritual retreat this coming weekend with the rest of the Holy See hierarchy.

The Vatican said the retreat would go ahead without Francis but in “spiritual communion” with him. The theme, selected weeks ago and well before Francis became ill, was “Hope in eternal life”.

Here are the latest photogaphs from outside Rome’s Gemelli hospital where well wishers continue to leave tributes for Pope Francis and pray for his recovery.

The Vatican is expected to release a further update on the 88-year-old who has remained in hospital since February 14.

It comes after Francis suffered two bouts of acute respiratory failure which has sparked fresh concerns for his health.

People pray for Pope Francis in St Peter’s Basilica forecourt

Catholics who have admitted feeling distant from Pope Francis compared to previous incumbents in the Vatican have admitted the daily gatherings for collective prayer have brought them closer to him.

Speaking to the U.S.-based National Catholic Reporter, worshippers said they have developed a stronger bond with Francis as a consequence of his illness.

One Catholic, from Brescia in Northern Italy, who has travelled to Rome with her two friends, told the newspaper:

We had already booked the trip in October to take part in the Jubilee journey. Then the pope got sicker, so we decided to come and pray the rosary. I have to tell the truth, I never felt this pope close, but being here today makes me feel him closer.

The previous popes inspired me with greater confidence compared to Francis. I came to pray tonight because of personal matters but also because of all that is going through the world these days.

Here is some footage filmed from outside Rome’s Gemelli Hospital where people are continuing to pray and light candles for Pope Francis.

The Vatican has confirmed Pope Francis has stabilised enough after two respiratory crises to be taken off non-invasive mechanical ventilation.

The 88-year-old has resumed receiving just high flows of supplemental oxygen via a nasal tube to help him breathe.

Francis woke up and was resuming respiratory physiotherapy after sleeping through the night, a Vatican spokesperson said.

He no longer needed to wear the mechanical ventilation mask that covers his nose and mouth to pump oxygen into his lungs after using it on Monday while doctors extracted ‘copious’ amounts of mucus from his lungs.

They performed two bronchoscopies, in which a camera-tipped tube was sent into his airways with a sucker at the tip to suction out fluid.

Francis, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, remained alert, oriented and co-operated with medical personnel, the Vatican said.

The prognosis remained guarded, meaning he was not out of danger.

Syrian refugees Hasan Zaheda and Nour Essa were helped by Pope Francis

A family from Syria who are rebuilding their lives in Rome after fleeing Damascus have told how they are praying day and night for Pope Francis to recover after he helped bring them to Italy.

Hasan Zaheda, an architect, and his wife Nour Essa, a biologist, made the decision to leave their homeland in 2015 after Ms Essa was drafted into the military.

After selling their house to finance their escape, the couple paid a smuggler to take them to Turkey before they arrived on the Greek island of Lesbos after three unsuccessful attempts to cross by boat.

In 2016, their lives changed after Pope Francis met them in Lesbos and brought them to Italy with two other Muslim families. Hasan and Nour now reside on the outskirts of Rome.

‘He’s a gift from paradise,’ Mr Zaheda told the Associated Press. ‘Pope Francis, a gift from our God, that God sent us to save us.’

‘We look for his health bulletin every day,’ said Nour Essa, Riad’s mother, recalling their meeting with the pontiff in Lesbos.

What shocked me the most is that the father of the church was a modest man, who didn’t have prejudices, open toward other ethnicities and religion.

Pope Francis was diagnosed with bronchitis after first complaining of a cold in early February.

On February 9, the 88-year-old had trouble breathing as he delivered an outdoor Mass service with an aide eventually finishing off for him.

Five days later he returned to Gemelli hospital for treatment and further tests and has remained there ever since.

Here’s a look back at his admission and the key moments:

• February 14: Francis returns to Gemelli for treatment of bronchitis and further diagnostic tests after feeling unwell for about 10 days which saw him struggle to read during services. Has remained on the 10th floor ever since.
• February 17: Doctors determine Francis is suffering from a polymicrobial respiratory tract infection, meaning a mix of viruses, bacteria and possibly other organisms had colonised his respiratory tract. His illness is described as ‘complex’.
• February 18: The Vatican announce Francis has developed pneumonia in both lungs following the results of a CT scan. New tests also showed Francis’ respiratory infection also involves asthmatic bronchitis, which requires the use of cortisone antibiotic treatment.
• February 22: The Pope’s condition is described as ‘critical’ as it emerges he has received blood transfusions following a ‘prolonged asthma-like respiratory crisis’. The blood transfusions were deemed necessary due to a low platelet count, associated with anaemia, the Vatican said.
• February 24: The Vatican says there has been a ‘slight improvement’ in his health although he remains in a critical condition. He is diagnosed with ‘mild’ kidney failure but the Vatican says it is not concerned by his ‘renal insufficency’
• February 28: It emerges Pope Francis suffered an ‘isolated’ breathing crisis in hospital following a ‘sudden worsening of his respiratory condition’. He received gas through a face mask to help him breathe.
• March 3: Pope Francis has today been put back on ventilation after suffering two new episodes of respiratory crises, the Vatican said.

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia (pictured), who heads the academy which helps articulate the Catholic Church’s position on end-of-life care, said Francis is like any other Catholic and would follow church teaching if it came to that.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, he said:

Today the pope is giving us an extraordinary teaching on fragility. Today the pope, not through words but with his body, is reminding all of us, we elderly people to begin with, that we are all fragile and therefore we need to take care of each other.

Catholic teaching holds that life must be defended from conception until natural death.

It insists that chronically ill patients, including those in vegetative states, must receive ‘ordinary’ care such as hydration and nutrition, but ‘extraordinary’ or disproportionate care can be suspended if it is no longer beneficial or is only prolonging a precarious and painful life.

Here are the first photographs we can show you from the Vatican this morning as people continue to pray for Francis to recover.

These photographs were captured next to the statue of Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.

A doctor who specialises in life-threatening lung conditions has warned the Pope appears to be taking ‘steps back’ in his recovery from pneumonia.

Dr. John Coleman, a pulmonary critical care doctor at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, said the episodes were more concerning than the last one on Friday, in which Francis had a coughing fit, inhaled some vomit that needed to be extracted and then was put on the noninvasive mechanical ventilation for a day and then didn’t need it anymore.

The use of bronchoscopies reflects a worrying level of mucus and phlegm in the lungs, Dr Coleman, who is not involved in Francis’ care, said.

The fact that they had to go in there and remove it manually is concerning, because it means that he is not clearing the secretions on his own. He’s taking little steps forward and then steps back.

Francis, who is not physically active, uses a wheelchair and is overweight, had been undergoing respiratory physiotherapy to try to improve his lung function.

But the accumulation of the secretions in his lungs was a sign that he doesn’t have the muscle tone to cough vigorously enough to expel the fluid.

The Pope has been receving treatment on the 10th floor at Gemelli Hospital

A Vatican official, who did not wish to be named because he was not authorised to discuss the pope’s health, said on Monday evening that the pontiff’s blood tests that day had remained stable.

The pope’s doctors believe the respiratory episode was part of his body’s normal response in fighting infection, the official added.

Francis has experienced several bouts of ill health over the last two years and is prone to lung infections because he had pleurisy as a young adult and had part of one lung removed.

Double pneumonia is a serious infection in both lungs that can inflame and scar them, making it difficult to breathe.

Nuns pray for Pope Francis in St Peter’s Square last night

Francis has not been seen in public since entering hospital, his longest absence from view since his papacy started in March 2013.

His doctors have not said how long his treatment might last after it emerged he suffered two bouts of respiratory failure

Acute respiratory failure, which can be life-threatening, occurs when the lungs cannot pass enough oxygen into the blood, or when carbon dioxide builds up in the body.

The pope’s setback came following several days of relatively upbeat statements about his condition.

The Vatican said the two respiratory episodes on Monday were caused by ‘a significant accumulation of endobronchial mucus’.

The pope, it said, had suffered a bronchospasm, akin to an asthma attack, and had required two bronchoscopies, or procedures to inspect his air passages.

His prognosis remains ‘guarded’, Monday’s statement said, which means Francis is not out of danger.

Pope Francis, hospitalised with penuemonia in both lungs, slept ‘all night long and continues to rest’ after suffering two bouts of acute respiratory failure, the Vatican said on Tuesday.

Two bulletins, released in the morning and evening, have been issued to provide updates on Francis’s condition throughout his admission at Rome’s Gemelli hospital.

It comes after a worrying development on Monday as it emerged the 88-year-old ‘experienced two episodes of acute respiratory failure, caused by a significant accumulation of endobronchial mucus and consequent bronchospasm.’

Here is how we reported last night’s development of the Pope’s health on the MailOnline website

Pope Francis has today been put back on ventilation after suffering two new episodes of respiratory crises, the Vatican said.

Following a weekend where the Pontiff, 88, ‘rested well’ after suffering a coughing fit on Friday evening, the Vatican have announced that the Pope’s health worsened today.

Francis reportedly suffered two episodes of respiratory crisis caused by a ‘significant’ amount of mucus accumulation in his lungs and bronchial spasms.

Hello and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage as Pope Francis remains in hospital where he suffered two bouts of respiratory failure.

The 88-year-old was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14 with bronchitis, which developed into pneumonia in both lungs, sparking alarm across the globe.

The Vatican said Francis’ health had shown slight improvement but fears were raised last night after it emerged he experienced ‘two episodes of acute respiratory failure’ caused by a build up of mucus.

Acute respiratory failure, which can be life-threatening, occurs when the lungs cannot pass enough oxygen into the blood, or when carbon dioxide builds up in the body.

Stick with us as we bring you the latest updates on the Pope’s health throughout the day.