The 88-year-old head of the 1.4 billion-strong Roman Catholic Church remains in critical condition, according to the Vatican.
He suffered a prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis that required high-flow oxygen, and was given blood transfusions, reported Agence France Presse.
Pope Francis has been at the Gemelli hospital in Rome since last week, having been diagnosed with double pneumonia.
An update given Saturday night warned the Pope was not yet out of danger, even as he was said to be alert, spending his day seated on an armchair. He missed his weekly Angelus prayer for the second Sunday in a row.
We join the Catholic community in taking stock of how he has over the past few years worked hard to make the Church more humane and inclusive.
There have been no drastic changes or about faces, expectedly, even as some sectors demand that the Church be more responsive to the times and reflective of current dilemmas and realities.
What Pope Francis is doing, instead, is to open up avenues for conversation and discussion, something that may not sit well with his conservative colleagues, but is well appreciated by groups that did not feel seen or acknowledged before.
Certainly, more needs to be done in the coming days.
As the faithful continue to wish for his recovery, may we remember the Pope not for his frailty in his time of sickness, but the spiritual vigor with which he has led the Church and which he will continue to lead in the days to come.