Pope Francis responding well to pneumonia therapy and showing 'gradual, slight improvement'

Pope Francis remains stable with good oxygen levels, responding well to treatment for double pneumonia.

Pope Francis is responding well to the treatment for double pneumonia and has shown a “gradual, slight improvement” in recent days, the Vatican said on Saturday (March 8, 2025). But his doctors have decided to keep his prognosis as guarded, meaning that he's not out of danger yet.

The 88-year-old Pope, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, has remained stable, with no fever and good oxygen levels in his blood for several days, doctors reported in a Vatican statement.

The doctors said that such stability “as a consequence testifies to a good response to therapy.” It was the first time the doctors had reported that Pope Francis was responding positively to the treatment for the complex lung infection that was diagnosed after he was hospitalised on February 14.

Pope Francis worked and rested during the day on Saturday, as he entered his fourth week at Rome's Gemelli hospital with his condition stabilised following a few bouts of acute respiratory crises last week.

“In order to record these initial improvements in the coming days as well, his doctors have prudently maintained the prognosis as guarded,” the statement said.

In his absence, the Vatican's day-to-day operations continued, with Cardinal Pietro Parolin celebrating Mass for an anti-abortion group in St. Peter's Basilica. At the start, Parolin delivered a message from the Pope from the hospital on the need to protect life, from birth to natural death.

In the message, dated March 5 and addressed to the Movement for Life, which seeks to provide women with alternatives to abortion, Pope Francis encouraged the faithful to promote anti-abortion activities not just for the unborn, but “for the elderly, no longer independent or the incurably ill.”