Pope rests as Vatican reports new improvement

Pope Francis waves to the crowd during the weekly general audience on March 20, 2024 at St Peter's square in The Vatican. [AFP]

Pope Francis spent a peaceful night in hospital, the Vatican said Friday, a day after it noted improvement in his clinical condition for a second straight day.

After being admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on February 14 for breathing difficulties, the pontiff's condition sparked widespread alarm as it deteriorated into pneumonia in both lungs. The Vatican has released some optimistic statements however.

"As in the past days, the night has passed quietly and the pope is now resting," the Vatican said in its morning bulletin on the 88-year-old's health.

After a difficult weekend in which the Argentine, who has been pope since 2013, suffered a respiratory attack, the Vatican this week noted slight, incremental improvements in his condition.

It said Francis showed a "slight improvement" on Monday and revealed on Tuesday that his condition was "critical but stable". It has not termed his condition as "critical" since.

A "further, slight improvement" was reported Wednesday and on Thursday the Vatican said the "clinical conditions of the Holy Father are confirmed to be improving today also."

The Vatican has not, however, modified the pope's prognosis of "reserved" -- which means doctors will not predict the likely outcome of the pope's current condition.

Medical experts have warned that Francis's age and the chronic respiratory disease from which he suffers mean a sustained recovery could take time.

"Given the complexity of the clinical picture, further days of clinical stability are necessary to resolve the prognosis," the Vatican said Thursday.

Francis has continued to work in hospital, where he is in a special papal suite on the 10th floor, while carrying out respiratory physiotherapy in between resting and praying, according to the Vatican.

The pope's hospital stay is the fourth of his nearly 12-year papacy, and his longest.

In recent years, he has had surgery on his colon, a hernia operation and pain in his knee and hip that have caused him to rely on a wheelchair.

Speculation has swirled over whether Francis might now resign, especially as his schedule has been packed with papal duties amid celebrations for the holy Jubilee year.

"If the pope survives, many imagine that he will want to finish the Jubilee year, but that afterwards, when he is 89, he will face the question of whether or not to resign," Italian Vatican expert Marco Politi told AFP.

Francis has always been open to following his predecessor, Benedict XVI, who in 2013 stepped down because of his physical and mental health.

But Francis, before his hospitalisation, had repeatedly said it is not yet the time.