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.

ROME — Pope Francis was in critical condition Saturday after he suffered a long asthmatic respiratory crisis that required high flows of oxygen, the Vatican said.

Pope Francis is said to be in critical condition at a Rome hospital after suffering what the Vatican called a “prolonged asthma-like respiratory crisis.” The 88-year-old spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic church has been hospitalized for more than a week after suffering double pneumonia.