Pope Francis, who suffered two respiratory crises on Monday as he battles double pneumonia, has stabilised and no longer needs to use mechanical ventilation for help breathing, the Vatican said on Tuesday.

Pope Francis had stabilized enough Tuesday after two respiratory crises to be taken off noninvasive mechanical ventilation and receive just high flows of supplemental oxygen, as he continued his more than two-week long fight against double pneumonia,

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.