Pope Francis's ninth night in hospital was peaceful, the Vatican said Sunday, the day after revealing the 88-year-old was in a "critical" condition.

The pope had on Saturday suffered a prolonged respiratory attack and required blood transfusions, the Vatican said that evening, while adding that he was alert and sitting in a chair.

"At the moment the prognosis is reserved," the Saturday statement had concluded, sparking widespread alarm about the leader of the world's almost 1.4 billion Catholics.

Sunday morning's update from the Vatican was brief, saying: "The night passed peacefully, the pope rested."

A Vatican source later said that unlike earlier in the week, the Argentine pontiff had not eaten breakfast, nor had he read the newspapers.

Francis, head of the Catholic Church since 2013, was initially admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on February 14 with bronchitis, but it developed into double pneumonia.

Doctors had on Friday confirmed he was "not out of danger" but said he was slightly improved -- building hopes for a recovery that were swiftly........

© International Business Times