Pope Francis still critical but shows ‘slight improvement’: Vatican

Pope Francis’s condition remains critical but has shown a “slight improvement”, the Vatican has said in its latest update on the 88-year-old pontiff’s health.

In a statement on Monday, the Vatican said “the clinical conditions of the Holy Father, in their critical nature, show a slight improvement”.

“Today there were no episodes of asthmatic respiratory attacks; some laboratory tests have improved,” it said, noting that Francis had worked in the afternoon after receiving the Eucharist in the morning.

The pope was still receiving oxygen, “although with slightly reduced flow and oxygen percentage”, the statement said.

Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on February 14 with breathing difficulties and his condition subsequently worsened.

He is battling pneumonia in both lungs as well as kidney issues in what has become the longest hospital stay of his nearly 12-year papacy.

Double pneumonia is a serious infection that can inflame and scar both lungs, making it difficult to breathe. The Vatican has described the pope’s infection as “complex” and said it was caused by two or more microorganisms.

The head of the Catholic Church, who has been pope since 2013, has suffered bouts of ill health over the past two years.

He is particularly prone to lung infections because he developed pleurisy as a young adult and had part of one lung removed.

Francis’s continued hospitalisation has prompted a global outpouring of concern and support, with a special prayer organised for Monday evening in St Peter’s Square in Rome.

Tributes also have been left outside the hospital where he is being treated.

Maria Vozlv, a Ukrainian who has lived in Rome for 18 years, said many in her home country were praying for Francis.

The pontiff has often decried the war in Ukraine, which hit the three-year mark on Monday, and prayed for peace.

“We Ukrainians are really praying for him,” Vozlv said. “He needs to get well and come home.”

Earlier Monday, the Vatican said the pope had spent a peaceful night, with a Vatican source saying he was “not in pain”, eating “normally” and even “in a good mood”.