(NewsNation) — When EWTN Global Catholic TV Network Vatican correspondent Colm Flynn last saw Pope Francis, the Holy Father was “in good spirits” but visibly “struggling to catch his breath.”
Flynn pointed to the Pope’s compromised lungs — part of his right lung was removed in his youth after a bout of pneumonia — and advanced age as potential cause for concern.
“Things are looking very serious here in the Eternal City today,” Flynn said Saturday on “NewsNation Prime.”
Flynn last saw the Pope on Wednesday, Feb. 12, just two days before he was admitted to the hospital.
The Vatican said in a Saturday statement that the 88-year-old is in “critical condition” after suffering a long asthmatic respiratory crisis that required high flows of oxygen.
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Pope Francis autographs a bottle of bourbon held by Kentucky Catholic priest Rev. Jim Sichko at the Vatican on May 1, 2024. (Courtesy Vatican Media via AP) -
Pope Francis delivers his blessing during his weekly general audience in the Pope Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) -
Pope Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio) wearing the miter during the celebration for the closing of the Holy Door. Vatican City, 20th November 2016 (Photo by Grzegorz Galazka/Archivio Grzegorz Galazka/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)
He also received blood transfusions after tests showed low platelet counts associated with anemia, the Vatican said in a late update.
“The Holy Father continues to be alert and spent the day in an armchair although in more pain than yesterday. At the moment the prognosis is reserved,” the statement said.
While it’s not Pope Francis’ first health scare, Flynn said the general feeling in Rome is that this one might be his last.
“This time, there is a feeling that it’s more serious, because that press conference that they held yesterday at the Gemelli Hospital, that was the first time that his doctors, his own personal doctors, spoke to us journalists,” Flynn said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
