Candles, rosaries and messages of support for Pope Francis are displayed Saturday at the statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli University Hospital, where Pope Francis is hospitalized, in Rome, Italy. Photo by Fabio Cimaglia/EPA-EFE
Pope Francis was showing a “gradual, mild improvement” on his 23rd consecutive day in the hospital for treatment of double pneumonia, the Vatican said Saturday.
Though a 88-year-old pontiff’s condition has “remained stable” and he “shows a good response to the therapies,” doctors remain concerned, according to the press office. Advertisement
“In order to monitor these initial improvements also in the coming days, the doctors prudently maintain that the prognosis is still guarded,” the Vatican said in an update Saturday night.
Specifically, he has been without a fever at all times, his breathing gas exchange has improved, and results from blood chemistry and blood count examinations are stable.
After receiving the Eucharist in the morning, the pontiff prayed in the chapel of the private apartment, and in the afternoon, he alternated between rest and work activities, the Vatican said.
“The night passed quietly; the Pope is resting,” according to a statement from the press office in the morning update.
The pope resumed prescribed therapies, including motor physiotherapy.
Francis uses nasal cannulas for high-flow oxygenation he uses a nasal cannulas, which is a small, flexible tube inserted into a body cavity, vein or duct. At night, he utilizes non-invasive mechanical ventilation, the Vaticans said. Advertisement
On Sunday, Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, will read the pope’s homily in St. Peter’s Square for the Jubilee of the World of Volunteering.
The two highest-ranking secretariat officials are 70-year-old Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s Secretary of State, and 65-year-old Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, the “substitute,” who serves as a papal chief of staff
Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14.
This is his longest hospital stay since he became pope in 2013.
The pope has had prior respiratory problems and had part of one lung removed while he was a young man in Argentina.
