The Vatican described his condition as critical for the first time on Saturday, reporting that the 88-year-old Francis needed supplemental oxygen and blood transfusions after a "prolonged asthma-like respiratory crisis.

Pope Francis, in hospital in a critical condition with pneumonia in both lungs, passed a good night and was resting, the Vatican said today.

Many who know him said that Francis, driven by a sense of mission and a discipline born of his early training, essentially worked himself into the hospital.