Pope Francis resting after early stages of kidney insufficiency detected

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

Pope Francis was resting on Monday morning after a quiet night on the 10th day of his hospitalisation for a complex lung infection that has provoked the early stages of kidney insufficiency, the Vatican said.

The one-line statement didn't say if Francis, 88, had woken up. The night passed well, the pope slept and is resting, it said.

Late Sunday, doctors reported that blood tests showed early, slight kidney insufficiency that was nevertheless under control. They said Francis remained in critical condition but that he hadn't experienced any further respiratory crises since Saturday.

He was receiving high flows of supplemental oxygen and, on Sunday, was alert, responsive and attended Mass. They said his prognosis was guarded.

 

Doctors have said Francis' condition is touch-and-go, given his age, fragility and pre-existing lung disease. They have warned that the main threat facing Francis is sepsis, a serious infection of the blood that can occur as a complication of pneumonia.

To date there has been no reference to any onset of sepsis in the medical updates provided by the Vatican, including on Sunday.

Monday marks Francis' 10th day in the hospital, making this equal to the longest hospitalisation of his papacy. He spent 10 days at Rome's Gemelli hospital in 2021 after he had 33 centimeters (13 inches) of his colon removed.

In New York on Sunday, Cardinal Timothy Dolan acknowledged 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 in his homily from the pulpit of St. Patrick's Cathedral, though he later told reporters he hoped and prayed that Francis would bounce back.

Francis' condition has revived speculation about what might happen if he becomes unconscious or otherwise incapacitated, and whether he might resign.