The Vatican says Pope Francis has had a good night’s rest. All indications suggest he has overcome the possible risks from a respiratory crisis last week.

Argentines have long waited for Pope Francis to visit the homeland he left in 2013 to become the head of the Roman Catholic Church. With his health delicate as he battles double pneumonia, the return seems increasingly unlikely now to happen.

Time-honored rituals, drafted and refined over centuries, allow time for mourning and provide order at a dramatic moment of transition.

ROME (AP) — A stable Pope Francis had a visit Sunday from the Vatican secretary of state as he continued his recovery from double pneumonia, but again skipped his weekly noon blessing to avoid even a brief public appearance from the hospital.

The Vatican said doctors had to put him on noninvasive mechanical ventilation following a coughing fit in which he inhaled vomit that needed to then be extracted.

There has long been a Vatican taboo against openly talking about a conclave when a pope is sick: It’s considered gauche to speculate about the election of a new pope while the current one is fighting for his life.

The Vatican reported Friday that he experienced sudden breathing problems that required “non-invasive mechanical ventilation” but that he remained “alert.”