Pope Francis has continued to show encouraging signs of recovery as he began the fifth week of medical treatment for double pneumonia on Saturday.
In what it described as a positive step, the Vatican said Friday that it will reduce the frequency of its medical updates.
Additionally, it has stopped sending out quick morning warnings stating that the pope had a restful night’s sleep and was getting ready for the day.
According to physicians this week, the 88-year-old pope’s health is no longer life-threatening, but it is complicated by his advanced age, limited mobility, and the fact that he lost a piece of his lung as a young man.
Francis was brought to the hospital on February 14 after suffering from bronchitis, which made it difficult for him to speak. Doctors quickly diagnosed double pneumonia and a polymicrobial (bacterial, viral, and fungal) infection.
The first three weeks of his hospitalisation were marked by a rollercoaster of setbacks, including respiratory crises, mild kidney failure and a severe coughing fit.
But medical updates this week have focused on his continued physical and respiratory therapy, as well as the rotation from high-flow oxygen through nostril tubes during the day and a non-invasive ventilation mask at night to help ensure his rest.
An X-ray this week confirmed that the infection was clearing.
With little more to report, doctors on Friday cancelled a planned medical update.
The next is to be issued later Saturday.
Doctors have not indicated how much longer Francis will be hospitalized.
The pope this week participated in Lenten spiritual exercises from the hospital, which Vatican officials have said implied a lighter workload.
For the last four Sundays, the traditional blessing that the pope delivers from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square has been released as a text.
