All eyes remain on the Vatican as Pope Francis continues his almost three-week long battle against a serious respiratory illness.

The Vatican said the Pope experienced “two episodes of acute respiratory insufficiency caused by a significant accumulation of endobronchial mucus and subsequent bronchospasm” yesterday evening.

Senior correspondent of The Crux Elise Ann Allen joined The Pat Kenny Show to explain what this means.

“Basically, what that means is [the Pope] has a lot of mucus buildup because of the infection that he’s fighting; the respiratory infection and the pneumonia,” she said.

“And he has chronic respiratory problems, so the bronchi - the little tubes that connect your lungs to your windpipe - tend to be very sensitive for him.

“So, basically there was a buildup of mucus that blocked his ability to breathe, it put stress on his respiratory system and caused those little tubes to spasm and he had to be aspirated.

“They needed to go in and suction all of that out and as a result of that additional shock to his system, he was put back on a non-invasive mechanical ventilation.”

Nun with the image of Pope Francis, on the eighth day, recites the holy rosary to support Pope Francis in St. Peter's Basilica forecourt. Credit: Independent Photo Agency/Alamy Live News. 3 March 2025

Ms Allen said this is “not a good sign”.

“Doctors have been trying to wean him off of oxygen since he initially began it on February 22nd after an initial respiratory crisis in the hospital – they've not been able to do that so far,” she said.

“The fact that he’s gone back on ventilation at this point is not a good sign for Pope Francis.”

According to Ms Allen, “the next couple days are going to be very critical to judging his overall outcome”.

Sound of mind

While the Pope is struggling to breathe, Ms Allen said he is still in a sound mind.

“That’s one thing the Vatican has been very consistent in telling us all throughout this ordeal since he went into the hospital up until now,” she said.

“Through each one of these crises he has remained vigilant, alert, aware and very cooperative throughout everything that’s gone on.”

26/08/2018. People wave to greet His Holiness Pope Francis at Knock Shrine. Photo: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

Ms Allen said this is crucial, as it allows the pontiff to continue with his work.

“He signed documents on certain occasions, he has met with close collaborators to move things forward and move the ball on things so that nothing gets stopped at the administrative level here in the Vatican - because there is no vice Pope,” she said.

“There’s no one to step in and do this and to make decisions for him when he’s gone, so he continues to do that from his hospital room and he’s been able to do that thus far.”

Ms Allen said the Vatican will say by the end of today whether this remains the case.

Listen back here:

Main image: Candles left outside the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, in Rome, Monday, March 3, 2025 where Pope Francis is hospitalized since Friday, Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)