Francis suffered the two crises Monday. Doctors extracted “copious” amounts of mucus that had accumulated in his lungs, the Vatican said in a late update.

Pope Francis suffered two new acute respiratory crises Monday and was put back on noninvasive mechanical ventilation, in another setback to his battle to fight pneumonia, the Vatican said. Doctors extracted “copious” amounts of mucus from his lungs during two bronchoscopies,

The 88-year-old pontiff has been hospitalized since Feb. 14 after a bout of bronchitis worsened and turned into a complex pneumonia in both lungs.