The Vatican has released the first image of Pope Francis in hospital since he began treatment for double pneumonia, in which the 88-year-old pontiff appeared to be breathing unaided.
The pope was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on February 14 with a severe respiratory infection that has required evolving treatment. He has not been seen in public since.
Francis is pictured from behind, sitting facing the altar in a chapel at the hospital. The side of his face is visible and his right hand rests on his lap. There is no sign that he is receiving the supplementary oxygen that he has been given throughout his stay.
The Vatican said the photo was taken on Sunday, when the Pope celebrated Mass with other priests in the chapel.
In its latest medical update, issued on Saturday, the Vatican said Francis was gradually improving and was using less mechanical ventilation at night to help with breathing.
The Pope has been described as being in a stable or improving condition for nearly two weeks, but the Vatican has not yet given a timeframe for his discharge, saying his recovery is going slowly.
Francis is prone to lung infections because he had pleurisy as a young adult and had part of one lung removed.
He has been receiving both respiratory physiotherapy to help with his breathing and physical therapy to help with his mobility. He has used a wheelchair in recent years due to knee and back pain.
Earlier on Sunday, dozens of children toting yellow and white balloons — many from war-torn countries — gathered outside Rome’s Gemelli hospital to greet Pope Francis on his fifth Sunday hospitalised with double pneumonia.
While the Pope did not appear from the 10th-floor suite of windows, he acknowledged their presence in the traditional Sunday blessing.
“I know that many children are praying for me; some of them came here today to Gemelli as a sign of closeness,’’ the pontiff said in the Angelus text prepared for the traditional prayer but not delivered live again.
“Thank you, dearest children! The Pope loves you and is always waiting to meet you,’’ Francis said.
Francis typically delivers the Angelus from a window overlooking St Peter’s Square to the gathered faithful, who have grown more numerous due to the Jubilee year that Francis inaugurated in December.
In the written text, Francis said he was thinking of others, who like him, are in a fragile state.
“Our bodies are weak, but even like this, nothing can prevent us from loving, praying, giving ourselves, being for each other, in faith, shining signs of hope,’’ the Pope said.
Doctors this week said the pontiff was no longer in critical, life-threatening condition, but they have continued to emphasise that his condition remained complex due to his age, lack of mobility and the loss of part of a lung as a young man.
Still, they are issuing fewer medical bulletins as the pontiff has been on an upward trajectory. An X-ray this week confirmed that the infection was clearing.
Doctors underlined that while the Pope’s condition is stable, he still requires hospitalisation for treatment along with physical and respiratory therapy, which are “showing further gradual improvements,” the Vatican said Saturday in the first medical update in three days.
with Reuters
