and has shown a ‘gradual, slight improvement’ in recent days, the Vatican has said.
But his doctors have decided to keep his prognosis as ‘guarded’, meaning that he is not yet in the clear.
The 88-year-old pope, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, has remained stable with no fever and good blood oxygen levels for several days.
His doctors said that such stability ‘testifies to a good response to therapy.’
It is the first time the doctors had reported a positive response to treatment by Francis after he was hospitalized on February 14.
The pope worked and rested during the day on Saturday, as he entered his fourth week at Rome’s Gemelli hospital.
His condition has now stabilized following a few bouts of acute respiratory crises last week.
‘In order to record these initial improvements in the coming days as well, his doctors have prudently maintained the prognosis as guarded,’ a Vatican statement said.
Francis has been using high flows of supplemental oxygen to help him breathe during the day and a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask at night.
He was initially hospitalized on Valentine’s Day for a bad case of bronchitis.
The infection then progressed into a complex respiratory tract infection and double pneumonia that has sidelined the pope for the longest period of his 12-year papacy.
In his absence, the Vatican’s day-to-day operations have continued, with Cardinal Pietro Parolin celebrating Mass for an anti-abortion group in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Parolin began the service by delivering a message on behalf of the pope on the need to protect life, from birth to natural death.
In the message, dated March 5 and addressed to the Movement for Life, which seeks to provide alternatives to abortion, Francis encouraged promotion of anti-abortion activities not just for the unborn, but ‘for the elderly, no longer independent or the incurably ill.’
Later on Saturday, a cardinal closely associated with Francis’ papacy, Michael Czerny, will preside over the nightly recitation of prayers for Francis.
Czerny then returns on Sunday to celebrate the Holy Year Mass for volunteers that Francis was supposed to have celebrated.
The latest health update comes as a pivotal meeting between King Charles and Pope Francis is hanging in the balance as the pontiff remains in hospital.
The highly anticipated visit, set for April as part of a royal tour to Italy and the Vatican, would be a historic moment for both the King and the Catholic Church.
It would mark Charles’ first meeting with the Pope since ascending to the throne, and comes during a special Jubilee Year for the Church.
‘Whenever we mention ‘stability’ it’s still within a picture of a complex situation and the prognosis remains guarded,’ the Vatican has previously said.
The Holy Father’s ill health has raised concerns about the royal meeting, but Buckingham Palace remains hopeful the trip will go ahead as planned.
If the meeting with the Pope does not take place, Charles and Camilla’s planned visit to the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel – famous for Michelangelo’s frescoes and the site where future Popes are elected – is still expected to proceed.
Their trip, which includes a celebration of the royal couple’s 20th wedding anniversary on April 9, will also include engagements in Rome and the northern Italian city of Ravenna.
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