Today is Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time. The Optional Memorial of St. Casimir (1458-1484) who was born in 1458 and was the son of the King of Poland. At an early age he saw through the superficiality and corruption of court life. Throughout his short life--he died of consumption at the age of 26--he dedicated himself wholly to the service of God and of his fellow-men. His love for the poor was immense. He was also renowned for his devotion to the Eucharist and to the Blessed Virgin.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis suffered "two episodes of acute respiratory insufficiency" March 3 but remained alert, the Vatican said, giving cause for concern after two days in which his condition was described as "stable."

The episodes of respiratory distress were "caused by significant accumulation of endobronchial mucus and subsequent bronchospasm," the Vatican said in its evening medical bulletin March 3. 

A "respiratory insufficiency" occurs when the lungs are unable to effectively take in sufficient oxygen or expel enough carbon dioxide to meet the body's needs.

The pope was diagnosed Feb. 18 with pneumonia in both of his lungs, which can contribute to the formation of endobronchial mucus -- the accumulation of mucus in the bronchial tubes, a part of the lungs leading to the airways. Attempting to expel the mucus can lead to a respiratory crisis. 

Young people and members of the House of Mary, groups associated with the Pontifical Academy of the Immaculate Conception, pray around a statue of St. John Paul II outside Rome’s Gemelli hospital March 2, 2025. Pope Francis is receiving treatment there for double pneumonia. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

Pope Francis underwent two bronchoscopies March 3, the Vatican said, "with the need for aspiration of abundant secretions," or the removal of excessive mucus or other fluids from the airways during the procedure.

"The Holy Father remained alert, oriented and cooperative at all times," the bulletin said.

It added that the pope resumed receiving non-invasive mechanical ventilation -- a treatment that delivers air with added oxygen through a tightly fitted face mask using positive pressure to assist breathing. The pope had previously ceased the need for mechanical ventilation and was receiving only high-flow oxygen therapy March 2, the Vatican had said. 

The pope's doctors maintained that his prognosis "remains guarded."

Addressing concerns that the pope could develop an infection after inhaling some of his own vomit following another respiratory crisis Feb. 28, a Vatican source said blood tests had continued to show no sign of another developing infection. Previous bulletins said Pope Francis did not show an elevated white blood cell count -- a typical bodily response to infection -- and did not have a fever. 

The respiratory crises suffered March 3 were instead provoked by his already existing infection, the source said.

Despite the Pope Francis' hospitalization, the Vatican continues to operate. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, and Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, the Vatican foreign minister, met at the Vatican with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda and discussed prospects for peace in Ukraine. 

U.S.-born Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, was scheduled to lead the nightly recitation of the rosary for the pope March 3. 

WASHINGTON - Courageous negotiations require boldness to open the door for dialogue, said Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, echoing the words of Pope Francis. 

Archbishop Broglio’s reflection for Lent follows:

“As we begin the holy Season of Lent, a time of prayer, penance, and charity, we join our Holy Father, Pope Francis, in his solidarity with the ‘martyred people of Ukraine.’ We pray and hope that the United States, in concert with the wider international community, works with perseverance for a just peace and an end to aggression. As our Holy Father reminded us in 2024, courageous negotiations require ‘boldness’ to ‘open the door’ for dialogue. 

“As Catholics, we are acutely aware that every past occupation of Ukraine has resulted in various degrees of repression of the Catholic Church in the country; we must not tolerate the forcing of our brothers and sisters underground again. I echo Pope Francis’ plea for respecting the religious freedom of all Ukrainians, ‘Please, let no Christian church be abolished directly or indirectly. Churches are not to be touched!’  

“In addition to offering prayers and sacrifices for a truly just peace in Ukraine, an opportunity for effective solidarity presents itself in the annual USCCB collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe, which will be taken up in many dioceses on Ash Wednesday. By contributing to this collection, Catholics in the United States can be assured that their assistance will directly help their struggling brothers and sisters in Ukraine, as well as in over twenty other countries in the region. I invite America’s Catholics, in union with all men and women of good will, to pray for the peace of Ukraine, and to contribute generously to assisting that suffering and courageous nation.”

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis' extended hospitalization and care is a reminder that every human being, especially the frail or elderly, must be given proper care, said Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

"What I would hope is that what we do for the pope we must do for everybody, for all the elderly, for all those who are alone, for all the abandoned," he told reporters on the sidelines of a news conference at the Vatican March 3.

Entering his 18th day at Rome's Gemelli Hospital for double pneumonia, the 88-year-old pope "is exercising an extraordinary magisterium on frailty. Not with words, but with his body," said the archbishop who turns 80 in April. "The pope is reminding every one of us, all people, starting with us elderly, that we are all frail and therefore we must take care of each other."

The pope's prognosis is guarded, which means doctors do not feel he is out of danger, especially since during his stay he has had two respiratory crises, which have required administering supplemental oxygen and a brief time of non-invasive mechanical ventilation. 

A religious sister holds a rosary joins cardinals living in Rome, leaders of the Roman Curia and the faithful in reciting the rosary for Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Feb. 24, 2025. (CNS photo/Pablo Esparza)

The archbishop was asked about the Catholic Church's position on medical treatment and care, a teaching that holds that it is not licit to suspend treatments that are required to maintain essential life functions as long as the body can benefit from them, while it is licit to renounce aggressive treatments or disproportionate medical procedures that provide only a precarious or painful extension of life.

How does the church's position apply to a pope, the reporter asked. "What would happen?"

"The pontiff is a person like every believer so we say that even when someone cannot be cured, one must always provide care," a person must always be accompanied, the archbishop said.

A pope would follow the same "path" for all Christians, he added, recalling Pope Francis' support of the cessation of aggressive treatments in his speech to European members of the World Medical Association in 2017.

The pope had said that people who are dying must be accompanied by loved ones and the care of medical professionals, but there is no requirement that every means available must be used to prolong their lives. 

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, speaks at a news conference at the Vatican March 3, 2025, about the academy’s general assembly. He also spoke about Pope Francis' illness. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

"Even if we know that we cannot always guarantee healing or a cure, we can and must always care for the living, without ourselves shortening their life, but also without futilely resisting their death," the pope had said.

Archbishop Paglia was asked what the pope meant by feeling "blessed" in his written Angelus message March 2 when he said he felt "in my heart the 'blessing' that is hidden within frailty because it is precisely in these moments that we learn even more to trust in the Lord."

The pope feels the support of so many people's prayers, the archbishop said. And it would be beautiful if every man and woman who was hurting could feel the same kind of support from people's prayers "and not, as is often the case, abandoned and eliminated."

"How much do you miss Francis at a time like this" when his message makes him seem so alone? the archbishop was asked.

"We miss him so much. That's why it is good we pray for him to come back soon," he said, and to "lend his voice even publicly because we need men like him who are really universal and not just partisan."
 

Today is Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time. The dioceses of the United States celebrate the Optional Memorial of St. Katharine Drexel (1858-1955). Born into a wealthy Philadelphia family, Katharine took an avid interest in the material and spiritual well-being of African and Native Americans. She founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People, and opened mission schools in the West for Native Americans and in the South for African Americans. In 1915 she founded Xavier University in New Orleans. At her death, there were more than 500 sisters teaching in 63 schools.

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Today is Saturday of the Seventh Week of Ordinary Time. The Roman Martyrology commemorates St. David (542-601), Bishop and patron of Wales. The Church in Wales and England celebrates this saint as a Feast. Very little is known about the life of St. David (Dewi Sant). He belonged to that great monastic movement which became influential in Wales in the sixth century and which had links with monasticism in Gaul and in Ireland. The earliest references to David are in the Irish Annals. Many churches across South Wales claim David as their founder. His chief foundation was at Mynyw or Menevia in Dyfed. He was canonized by Pope Callistus II in 1123.