Portugal Colonial - Pope responding well to pneumonia treatment, Vatican says

The Argentine pontiff has been in Rome's Gemelli hospital since February 14, and has suffered a series of respiratory crises, but for several days now his condition has been described as "stable".

"The Holy Father's clinical condition in recent days has remained stable and, consequently, testifies to a good response to treatment. There is therefore a gradual, slight improvement", the Vatican said.

Though Francis does not have a fever, his doctors want to see the same positive results "in the coming days" before giving a prognosis, the evening medical bulletin said.

The pope prayed Saturday morning in the chapel belonging to the special papal suite on the hospital's 10th floor, while in the afternoon he alternated rest with work, it said.

Francis 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 hospitalisation of his papacy.

On Thursday the Vatican released an audio message -- the first time the world had heard Francis's voice since he went into hospital.

"I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers for my health from the Square. I accompany you from here," said Francis, taking laboured breaths every couple of words.

- 'Hope' -

Catholics have been gathering nightly in St Peter's Square to pray for Francis, or leave flowers, candles or cards for him outside the Gemelli.

"I hope that his lungs can go back to normal, his voice too," said one believer, Arnoldo Mosca Mondadori.

But "even this (breathless) voice gives us so much hope, it is huge for us. Even a thread of voice can give our heart and soul so much hope", he said.

The pope continues to switch between an oxygen mask at night and a cannula -- a plastic tube tucking into the nostrils -- delivering high-flow oxygen during the day.

He has been doing bits of work when possible.

On Saturday, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin read aloud a message on the pope's behalf during a mass in St Peter's Basilica.

The pope had worked on the message from hospital just a few days ago, on March 5, the Vatican said.

- 'All praying' -

During previous hospitalisations, the leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics appeared on the Gemelli balcony for his weekly Sunday Angelus prayer.

But he has missed the last three.

The Vatican press office said Saturday that it was "quite probable" the Angelus would be delivered this Sunday "in the same way" as in previous weeks, when it was published as a letter released at noon.

He will be missed by Catholics used to seeing him appear at his window at the Vatican every Sunday.

"I was at the Vatican, (there was) a silence in my heart, like when someone goes to his or her parents' house and they are not there," Maria Julieta Marquez Garcia from Mexico told AFP.

"We are all praying", she said.

H.Portela--PC