Pope Francis no longer requires mechanical ventilation after respiratory crisis

Pope Francis stabilized after respiratory crises, no longer needs mechanical ventilation, receives supplemental oxygen in pneumonia battle.

Pope Francis had stabilized enough Tuesday (March 4, 2025) after two respiratory crises to be taken off non-invasive mechanical ventilation and receive just high flows of supplemental oxygen as he continued his more than two-week-long fight against double pneumonia, the Vatican said.

Pope Francis, 88, woke up and was resuming respiratory physiotherapy after sleeping through the night, the Vatican said.

The Vatican said that, as of Tuesday (March 4, 2025) morning, Pope Francis no longer needed to wear the mechanical ventilation mask that covers his nose and mouth to pump oxygen into his lungs and was just receiving supplemental oxygen through a nasal tube.

He had to resume using the mask on Monday (March 3, 2025) after suffering two respiratory crises that required doctors to extract “copious” amounts of mucus from his lungs. Doctors performed two bronchoscopies, in which a camera-tipped tube was sent into his airways with a sucker at the tip to suction out fluid.

The 88-year-old pope, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, remained alert, oriented and cooperated with medical personnel, the Vatican said. The prognosis remained guarded, meaning he was not out of danger. Doctors didn’t say if he remained in stable condition, though they referred to the crises in the past tense.

The fact that Pope Francis no longer needed the ventilation mask by Tuesday (March 4, 2025) morning was a sign that he had stabilized some after the crises, but still within what doctors have said was a complex respiratory picture.

The crises were a new setback in what has become a more than two-week battle by the frail Pope to overcome a complex respiratory infection.