The Pope rose from his hospital bed to have breakfast on Thursday morning after doctors said he was in a stable condition as he battles pneumonia.
The Vatican said Francis, 88, slept well on Wednesday night, his sixth night at Rome’s Gemelli hospital after he was admitted last Friday with a bout of bronchitis that left him gasping for air at public events and unable to read speeches.
By Tuesday he had developed pneumonia in both lungs — a serious condition given he had part of a lung removed as a young man due to pleurisy. The Pope is also suffering from asthmatic bronchitis, doctors said. But on Wednesday doctors reported that blood tests had shown an improvement in his condition.
“The clinical conditions of the Holy Father are stable,” the Vatican said on Wednesday evening. “Blood tests, evaluated by medical staff, indicate a slight improvement, particularly in the inflammatory markers.”
A Vatican source said that Francis was breathing on his own, without the use of a respirator, and was able to get out of bed to work from a chair in his room.
Given the probability that he was given a CT scan for pneumonia on his entry to hospital which proved negative, it is likely the pneumonia was caught early by Tuesday’s positive scan.
On Wednesday he received a 20-minute visit from the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, who reported that Francis was lively and telling jokes.
“I am really happy to have found him alert and reactive,” Meloni said after the visit. “We joked as ever. He has not lost his proverbial sense of humour,” she added.
The Pope has been sent get-well drawings from children being treated in the hospital’s cancer ward.
As a precaution, doctors were reportedly keeping the windows of his room firmly shut on Wednesday to keep out the slightest draughts.
Outside the hospital, pilgrims praying for Francis’ health lit candles at a statue of the Pope John Paul II, who was treated numerous times at the hospital towards the end of his papacy.
Cardinal Baldassare Reina, the vicar-general of the Diocese of Rome, asked all Rome parishes to pray for Francis’ recovery.
