The Vatican City: Pope Francis, who is in the hospital with pneumonia, suffered a “breathing crisis” on Friday that caused him to vomit, but he got air and stabilized, says the Vatican.

The episode came a few hours after a Vatican source said the 88-year-old Pontiff’s condition was no longer considered critical after a number of step-by-step improvements.

Francis, who has spent the last two weeks at Roma’s Gemelli Hospital, “presented an isolated crisis of bronchospasm, which … led to an episode of vomiting with inhalation and a sudden worsening of the respiratory image,” the Vatican said in a statement on Friday night.

“The Holy Father immediately underwent broncho aspiration and began non-invasive mechanical ventilation with a good answer to gas exchange,” it said.

Francis “remained attentive and oriented at all times and collaborated with the therapeutic maneuvers,” it added.

His doctors said it would take the next 24 to 48 hours to determine if this respiratory tract has worsened his condition, a Vatican source said.

The pontiff, which is “not out of danger,” used an oxygen mask that covers his nose and mouth but was “in a good mood,” the source added.

He also responded better than others could have done in his condition, the source said.

The pope was hospitalized on February 14 to inhale difficulties, but his condition worsened to pneumonia in both lungs that triggered alarm.

He suffered a respiratory attack this weekend, but since then he seemed to have improved a little, with the Vatican released more optimistic medical updates.

However, it has not yet changed the Pope’s forecast for “reserved”, which means that doctors will not predict changes in his health.

Still reserved

Medical experts have warned that Francis’ age and the chronic respiratory disease from which he suffers means that a sustained improvement could take time.

The pope, head of the world’s nearly 1.4 billion Catholics, had part of one of his lungs removed as a young man and has suffered rising health problems in recent years.

He is prone to bronchitis and suffers from hip and knee pain, which has made him dependent on a wheelchair.

Nevertheless, Francis has continued to work from Special Hospital Suite on Gemellis 10th floor.

He has also done breathing exercises between rest and prayed, according to the Vatican.

This hospital stay is the fourth of the Argentines’ almost 12-year-old papacy and the longest.

In recent years, he has undergone an operation on his colon and a broc operation as well as a previous stay in the hospital with bronchitis.

There has been speculation as to whether Francis may now resign, especially as his schedule is filled with papal tasks in the midst of the celebrations of the holy anniversary year.

“If the pope survives, many people imagine that he will end the anniversary year, but afterwards, when he is 89, he will face the question of whether he should resign or not,” the Italian Vatican’s expert Marco police told AFP.

Francis has always been open to following his predecessor, Benedict XVI, who in 2013 stepped down because of his physical and mental health.

But before his hospitalization, Francis had repeatedly said that it wasn’t time yet – and maybe it was never.