The Vatican carried on with its Holy Year celebrations without the pope Saturday, as Pope Francis battled pneumonia and a complex respiratory infection that doctors say remains touch-and-go and will keep him hospitalized for at least another week.

VATICAN CITY >> Pope Francis’ health has deteriorated over the past 24 hours, the Vatican said in a statement today, adding that he had suffered a “prolonged asthma-like respiratory crisis” and had needed blood transfusions.

The health of Pope Francis, who has been hospitalized for over a week with pneumonia, worsened on Saturday, raising fears that the pontiff might not survive his struggle with respiratory infections.