While Italy's main news agency reported that Pope Francis' respiratory "crisis" had subsided, a Vatican source said he was still receiving supplemental oxygen by nasal cannula early Feb. 23.

The evening before, the 88-year-old pope's doctors said that he had experienced "an asthmatic respiratory crisis of prolonged magnitude, which also required the use of oxygen at high flows."

The doctors, in a bulletin released by the Vatican Feb. 22, also said the pope had required a blood transfusion because of a low platelet count and described his condition as "critical," adding that "at the moment the prognosis is reserved."

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Since the pope checked into Rome's Gemelli hospital Feb. 14 with bronchitis and difficulty breathing, the Vatican press office has issued a short morning bulletin, which mainly described how he slept and if he was able to get out of bed to eat breakfast.

The Feb. 23 morning statement said only, "The night passed quietly; the pope rested."

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The Vatican also released a message written by the pope for the midday recitation of the Angelus prayer, but did not say what day the pope wrote it.

"I am confidently continuing my hospitalization," the pope wrote, "carrying on with the necessary treatment; and rest is also part of the therapy!"

Pope Francis publicly thanked the doctors and health care workers "for the attention they are showing me and the dedication with which they carry out their service among people who are sick."

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The pope also thanked people for the "many messages of affection" that he has received, particularly the letters and drawings sent by children.

"Thank you for this closeness and for the prayers of comfort I have received from all over the world," he wrote.