Pope Francis conscious but remains in critical condition, Vatican says

The Vatican said Francis, who has pneumonia in both lungs and had part of one lung removed as a young man, was still receiving high flows of supplemental oxygen.

Pope Francis was conscious but still receiving high flows of supplemental oxygen Sunday as he remained in critical condition with pneumonia and a complex lung infection, the Vatican said. Prayers for him poured in from around the world, from his native Argentina to the seat of Sunni Islam in Cairo to schoolchildren in Rome.

In New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said what church leaders in Rome weren’t saying publicly: that the Catholic faithful were united “at the bedside of a dying father.”

“As our Holy Father Pope Francis is in very, very fragile health, and probably close to death,” Dolan said at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, without saying if he had independent information about the pope’s condition.

In Rome, the Vatican limited itself to saying that the 88-year-old Francis, who has pneumonia in both lungs and had part of one lung removed as a young man, was still receiving high flows of supplemental oxygen after a respiratory crisis on Saturday. Further clinical tests were being performed.

“The night passed quietly, the pope rested,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in an early statement. A more detailed medical update was expected later Sunday.

On Saturday, Francis suffered a prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis that required high flows of oxygen to help him breathe through a nasal tube. He also received blood transfusions after tests showed low counts of platelets, which are needed for clotting, the Vatican said.

Doctors said Saturday his prognosis was “reserved.”

Doctors have said Francis’ condition is touch-and-go, given his age, fragility and pre-existing lung disease. His condition has revived speculation about what might happen if he becomes unconscious or otherwise incapacitated, and whether he might resign.