Pope Francis suffers two episodes of ‘acute respiratory failure’

A balloon with an image of Pope Francis outside the Gemelli hospital in Rome on 3 March. Photograph: Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images

Pope Francis, who has been in hospital with pneumonia for more than two weeks, suffered two episodes of “acute respiratory failure” on Monday, the Vatican said.

The pontiff, 88, had returned to a stable condition during the weekend after a breathing crisis that caused him to vomit on Friday. The Vatican said the episodes on Monday were caused by “significant accumulation of endobronchial mucus and a consequent bronchospasm”.