«The Pope rested well during the night, waking up shortly after 8 o’clock». This is the update on the state of health of Francis, hospitalized at the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome since February 14, released this morning, March 5, by the Holy See Press Office.

Yesterday, in its usual evening communication to journalists, the Vatican Press Office reported that «the clinical condition of the Holy Father remained stable» and that during the night, «as planned», «non-invasive mechanical ventilation would be resumed until» this morning. The note stated that the Pope “had no episodes of respiratory insufficiency or bronchospasms,” that he “remained apyretic, always alert, collaborating with the therapies and oriented,” that in the morning he had “switched to high-flow oxygen therapy” and had “undergone respiratory physiotherapy” and that “during the day he alternated between prayer and rest and this morning he received the Eucharist.”

The clinical picture was also stable as regards the heart, kidneys, and blood values, but in a complex general situation, with bronchospasms not unexpected in the context of pneumonia such as that of the Pontiff.