Pope Francis Suffering From Kidney Failure in Addition to Pneumonia

Pope Francis is suffering from “initial, mild kidney failure” in addition to the serious respiratory illness that has left the 88-year-old pontiff in critical condition in a Rome hospital, the Vatican said on Sunday.

Describing a “complex” clinical picture, the Vatican said that the kidney ailment was “at present under control,” and that there had been no repeat of the respiratory crisis that the pope had experienced on Saturday.

The pope was “alert and well oriented,” the Vatican said, and he attended Mass in his suite along with the medical staff caring for him.

Blood tests indicated the early stages of kidney failure, the Vatican said, but also showed that Francis’ anemia had improved. He was still receiving high flows of supplemental oxygen, it said.

Because of the “complexity of the clinical picture,” and because it would take time for the drug therapies to “provide some feedback,” his doctors said that the situation remained critical.

Prayers for Francis poured in from around the world, as concerns mounted about his health.

In his homily on Sunday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan called for those present to “pray with and for” Francis. He also said what no one at the Vatican has publicly admitted: that Francis might not recover.