Vatican: Pope’s clinical condition experiences ‘a gradual, mild improvement’

CV NEWS FEED // On Saturday evening, local time, the Vatican told journalists that the Pope’s clinical condition has been stable and responded well to therapies for the past few days.

“There is therefore a gradual, mild improvement,” the report said, according to Vatican News.

Vatican News said the pope, who is receiving care at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital for bilateral pneumonia, hasn’t been experiencing a fever, his blood chemistry and blood count results have been stable, and his breathing gas exchange has grown stronger.

“In order to monitor these initial improvements also in the coming days, the doctors prudently maintain that the prognosis is still guarded,” the update said.

On Saturday, according to the Vatican, the pope rested after a quiet night at the hospital. He received the Eucharist and prayed in the chapel in the morning. In the afternoon, he rested and did some work-related activities.

At night, Pope Francis has been receiving non-invasive mechanical ventilation, and during the day, he has been engaging in high-flow oxygen therapy. That continued today, as planned, the Saturday evening report indicated.

The Vatican reported that the pope, in spiritual communion with the Roman Curia, will follow the spiritual exercises that start Sunday, and the Pope’s Angelus will be distributed.

The Vatican previously announced that it would not provide a medical update the evening of March 7 because the pope’s condition has been stable. In the Saturday evening report, it said it may again not have a medical update Sunday because the pope’s condition is stable, but it would still provide a report to journalists.

As CatholicVote reported, Pope Francis delivered a message of gratitude in Spanish to the people who have been praying for him since he entered the hospital Feb. 14.

““I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers for my health from the Square; I accompany you from here,” the Pope said, in his first spoken address since Feb. 12. “May God bless you and the Virgin protect you. Thank you.”

Cardinal Lazzaro Heung-sik You, prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy, led the rosary for the pope in Rome on March 7.

Prayers for the pontiff continue around the world. The Diocese of Gary, Indiana, Capuchin Friar Emmanuel Idakwo, and the Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore are among those who have shared messages on X.