Pope Francis health latest: New updates on the Pontiff’s ‘complex’ condition released as his medical battle hits its eighteenth day

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.