Pope Francis shows 'slight improvement,' remains hospitalized in stable condition

Pope Francis is in stable condition, the Vatican said in a statement Wednesday, adding that blood tests showed "a slight improvement" since he was hospitalized last week with severe respiratory issues.

The improvement, particularly in his inflammatory markers, suggests that the treatment is working. Francis remains at Policlinico Agostino Gemelli, one of Italy’s largest hospitals, for pneumonia treatment.

But he has begun returning to some duties on Wednesday, the Vatican's statement said. He read newspapers after breakfast "and then went about his work with his closest collaborators."

He received communion before lunch, and met privately with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the afternoon.

According to a statement by the prime minster's office, Meloni wished him "a speedy recovery, on behalf of the government and the entire nation."

“I am very happy to have found him alert and responsive,” Meloni said. “We joked as always. He has not lost his proverbial sense of humor.”

On Monday, the Vatican announced that Francis was sick with a polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract, three days after he was admitted to Gemelli hospital for bronchitis. Preliminary tests showed he had a respiratory tract infection and a slight fever, that the Vatican described as a “complex clinical picture.”

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The Vatican said Tuesday that he had developed pneumonia in both lungs that the polymicrobial infection has “arisen in the context of bronchiectasis and asthmatic bronchitis, and has required the use of corticosteroid and antibiotics,” which “makes the therapeutic treatment more complex.”

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Polymicrobial diseases are caused by combinations of viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites, according to the National Library of Medicine.

Francis has contended with repeated health issues in recent years, including from influenza and respiratory infections. In 2021, he underwent surgery to address diverticulitis, or a painful inflammation in the intestine, and again in 2023 to repair a hernia.

Last month, he wore a sling on his arm after falling at his residence, weeks after bruising his face in a fall.

Francis, the leader of the world’s nearly 1.4 billion Catholics since 2013, often uses a wheelchair because of back and knee pain.