Pope still improving, Vatican eyes end of hospitalisation

A woman prays at the statue of John Paul II outside the Gemelli University Hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized with pneumonia, in Rome on March 9, 2025.[AFP]

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.