A critically ill Pope Francis, battling pneumonia in both lungs, slept well, the Vatican said Tuesday after earlier reporting a “slight improvement” in the health of the 88-year-old.
The Argentine pontiff was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14 with breathing difficulties and bronchitis but his condition has subsequently worsened and faithful around the world have been praying for his recovery.
“The Pope rested well, all night long,” said the Vatican in a morning update on the 12th day of the pope’s hospital stay.
The Holy See issued a more hopeful statement Monday evening, saying that the pope’s “critical clinical conditions… demonstrate a slight improvement”.
It said Francis had suffered no respiratory attacks like one on Saturday that required “high-flow oxygen”. It said some laboratory tests had improved.
But the pope remains “a fragile patient,” as his doctor Luigi Carbone stated Friday, and his medical team have cautioned that it will take time for his drug treatments to show a positive effect.
“Considering the complexity of the clinical picture,” his doctors have declined to “decide on the prognosis,” the Vatican said Monday.
Francis, who has a special papal suite on the 10th floor of the hospital, has continued to do some work, has moved from his bed to an armchair, and received the Eucharist in the morning.
Hundreds of faithful gathered under rain showers in St Peter’s Square on Monday evening, as dozens of cardinals recited prayers for Francis.
Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga — a former coordinator of the pope’s Council of Cardinals — told La Repubblica daily he felt hopeful that the pope would pull through.
“It’s not yet time for him to go to heaven,” Maradiaga said.
“He is someone who does not back down in the face of difficulty, does not get discouraged, does not freeze, and does not stop moving forward,” he told the paper.