Pope Francis suffered two episodes of acute respiratory failure Monday, the Vatican said, a fresh setback in the worst health crisis of his papacy.
The failures were prompted by significant buildup of mucus within his bronchi that caused a bronchospasm, or a tightening of the airways of the lungs, the Vatican said in an update. Medical staff members at Rome’s Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic hospital, where the 88-year-old pontiff was admitted Feb. 14, performed two bronchoscopies and removed “abundant secretions,” the Vatican said.
