Pope surpasses one-week mark in the hospital for pneumonia

Pope Francis spent another uneventful night in the hospital, the Vatican reported Friday, marking a week since the 88-year-old's hospitalization due to bilateral pneumonia.

"The night went well. This morning, Pope Francis got up and had breakfast," the Holy See said in its daily briefing.

Francis was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital for bronchitis last Friday, and on Tuesday the Holy See announced he was suffering from bilateral pneumonia, a potentially fatal lung tissue infection.

But in recent days, the Vatican has reported an improved state of health of the Argentine pope.

"The Holy Father's clinical condition improved slightly. He is apyretic [no fever] and his hemodynamic [blood circulation] parameters remain stable," the Holy See said in its medical report Thursday night in a communication picked up by AFP.

According to the same source, on Thursday the pope received the Eucharist and then went about his professional activities.

This included contacts with his closest collaborators, the reading and signing of documents and phone calls.

Cardinals were positive, assuring that he is "on the right track."

This hospitalization, his fourth since 2021, rekindled concern about the health of the leader of the Catholic Church, already weakened by a series of problems in recent years, from colon and abdominal operations to difficulty walking.