Pope still improving, Vatican eyes end of hospitalisation

Pope Francis's condition is improving and doctors no longer fear for his life, the Vatican said Monday, indicating the 88-year-old could even leave hospital within days.

The leader of the world's Catholics was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on February 14 with bronchitis, which became pneumonia in both lungs.

The Argentine suffered a series of breathing crises that sparked worldwide concern for his life, most recently on March 3.

But after a week of steady improvements, the Holy See said on Monday evening that his prognosis was no longer considered "reserved", or uncertain.

"The clinical conditions of the Holy Father continue to be stable," it said in a statement.

"The improvements recorded in the previous days have been further consolidated, as confirmed by blood tests and clinical objectivity and the good response to pharmacological therapy.

"For these reasons, the doctors have decided today to lift their reserved prognosis."

It added that "given the complexity of the pope’s clinical picture and the severe infection present at the time of hospitalisation, it will still be necessary to continue pharmacological treatment in a hospital setting for several more days".

This suggests that once this therapy is completed, he should return home.

A Vatican source had earlier Monday said it was "too soon to talk about his return to Santa Marta", the guest house within the tiny city state where the pope lives.

The same source late Monday also expressed caution, saying Francis still had pneumonia and the clinical picture remained "complex, even if there is no imminent danger" to his life.

- Like my own father -

Francis spent Monday doing physical and respiratory therapy in his 10th-floor suite in the Gemelli hospital, the Vatican said.

As on previous mornings, he also switched from the oxygen mask he uses nightly to a cannula -- a plastic tube tucking into the nostrils -- which delivers high-flow oxygen, it said.

The leader of the world's nearly 1.4 billion Catholics has been working on and off, and following the news where possible -- including deadly floods that have hit his homeland of Argentina.

Francis "is close to the people of the Bahia Blanca area in thought and prayer", the Vatican said Monday, referring to the port city where 16 people have died.

As on Sunday, the pope also followed prayers and meditations being held Monday at the Vatican via video link, though while he could see participants, they could not see the pope.

Pilgrims across the world have been praying for the pope since he was hospitalised, from Iraq to his native Argentina.

On Sunday evening, there was a special service in Myanmar's biggest metropolis.

"I feel saddened like he is my own father since he has been sick," Francis Than Htun, the rector of St. Mary's Cathedral and auxiliary bishop of Yangon archdiocese, told AFP.

- 'Tenderness of care' -

The pope has suffered a series of health issues in recent years, from colon surgery in 2021 to a hernia operation in 2023, but this is the longest and most serious stay in hospital of his papacy.

During previous stays, he has appeared on the Gemelli balcony for his weekly Sunday Angelus prayer, but during this hospitalisation he has missed it four times in a row.

He instead issued a written Angelus prayer last Sunday in which he thanked his doctors.

"I too experience the thoughtfulness of service and the tenderness of care, in particular from the doctors and healthcare workers, whom I thank from the bottom of my heart," he said.

Francis has not been seen in person since he was admitted, though he released a breathless audio message on Thursday thanking people for their prayers.

Hearing from the pope, however weak he sounded, was hailed a sign of hope by some faithful. Others, however, said it brought home just how long his recovery could take.

bur-ar/gv