The health condition of Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of Catholics who has been in hospital for more than a week, has been declared critical. It was reported that Pope Francis experienced an asthma attack this morning, thus requiring oxygen support, and also received a blood transfusion due to low platelet levels. The Vatican issued a written statement regarding the health condition of the 88-year-old Pope, who has been receiving treatment at Gemelli Hospital in Rome since February 14th, where he was diagnosed with a polymicrobial infection and bilateral pneumonia. The statement included the words, “Pope’s health condition continues to be critical. As announced yesterday, the Pope has not yet overcome the risk.” The Vatican’s statement mentioned, “This morning, Pope Francis suffered from a prolonged asthma attack and required oxygen therapy. Anemia along with low platelet count (thrombocytopenia) was detected in blood tests today, necessitating a blood transfusion. The Pope is conscious and spending his day in a chair, but is more troubled than yesterday.” The Vatican also announced in the morning that due to Pope’s hospitalization, he will not be able to perform the traditional Sunday prayer tomorrow, and the prayer text will be shared. On the other hand, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, speaking to the Corriere della Sera newspaper, stated, “These are all unnecessary speculations. We are currently thinking about Pope’s health and his return to the Vatican. That’s what matters.” HEALTH ISSUES ON THE RISE IN RECENT YEARS Since becoming the spiritual leader of Catholics in 2013, Pope Francis was hospitalized for the first time in 2021 at Gemelli Hospital and underwent colon surgery. The Pope, lastly in 2023, was treated at Gemelli Hospital twice: once for shortness of breath and once for the placement of a prosthesis on the abdominal wall. Due to knee pains in recent years, the spiritual leader of Catholics was using a wheelchair. Pope Francis, in two public events on February 9th and 12th, expressed that he had bronchitis and was having difficulty breathing, unable to give speeches and requesting his assistants to read the speech texts. Hospitalized on February 14th, later reported to have a polymicrobial infection in the respiratory tract, the health condition of the Pope was mentioned in the Vatican’s statement on February 18th as developing pneumonia and maintaining a complex clinical situation. In the Vatican’s statement on February 19th, it was noted that Pope was not receiving oxygen support and could breathe independently, indicating a “slight improvement” in the previous statement. The activities planned for this weekend by the Pope had also been canceled.