A bishop removed from his diocese by Pope Francis is "grateful" for everyone who has prayed for the pope amid his ongoing health battle. "We must remember that praying for those in peril is who we are,

The Vatican said Francis, 88, who has been hospitalized for pneumonia, was responding well to treatment and that it was too soon to say how serious the incident was.

Pope Francis had an "isolated breathing crisis" in hospital on Friday, the Vatican said, in a setback as the 88-year-old pontiff battles double pneumonia.