"Hope for recovery

Pope’s condition has improved slightly

Pope Francis has been in hospital for days, his condition has improved slightly but remains critical.

(Bild: AFP)

Pope Francis has spent another "quiet night" in the Gemelli Hospital in Rome. Following a "slight improvement" in the 88-year-old prominent patient's critical state of health, there is growing hope that the Holy Father will recover. He is still "capable of making decisions".

The head of the Roman Catholic Church rested well throughout the night on Tuesday in his room at the "Gemelli" polyclinic in Rome, according to a statement from the Vatican in the morning. Despite pneumonia, he was still "capable of making decisions".

Messages from his sickbed
He approved personnel decisions until the very end. Only on Monday did he appoint four bishops. From his sickbed, he also called for "justice and fraternity" in view of the upcoming Lent. Christians should move out of their "comfort zone" and "overcome paralysis, fear and hopelessness". However, the text was written on February 6, just over a week before the Pope's admission.

Slight improvement
On Monday evening, the Vatican press office reported that his condition had improved slightly. The slight renal insufficiency gave no cause for concern. The oxygen therapy for the bilateral pneumonia had been continued with reduced oxygen levels.

Thousands of people in prayer
The Vatican had invited the faithful to pray the daily rosary for Francis on Monday evening. Despite the rain, thousands prayed for the sick Pope in St. Peter's Square.

Thousands prayed for Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican on Monday evening.

(Bild: AP)

Little Valentina from Buenos Aires also prayed for the recovery of her countryman.

(Bild: AP)

The number two in the Vatican, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, led the prayer. He recalled the many Catholics who had been praying for the hospitalized Pope for days - including in Francis' Argentinian homeland.

Numerous faithful prayed for the Pope at an open-air mass in Buenos Aires, which was celebrated by the Archbishop of Buenos Aires - Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva, a successor to Francis in this office - in the Plaza Constitución in the center of the Argentinian capital.