The 88-year-old pontiff has been hospitalised since 14 February with pneumonia in both lungs. Doctors say his condition remains complex.
Pope Francis continued to recover in hospital on Friday, three weeks after he was brought in with pneumonia in both lungs.
On Thursday, he thanked people for their prayers in an audio message broadcast.
Pope Francis’ voice, discernible through his laboured breaths and in his native Spanish, was recorded Thursday from the hospital and broadcast to the faithful in St Peter’s Square who had gathered for the nightly recitation of the Rosary prayer.
“I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers for my health from the square, I accompany you from here,” he said, his voice echoing in the hushed square. “May God bless you and the Virgin protect you. Thank you.”
The 88-year-old pontiff has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man.
The Vatican has given twice-daily updates on Pope Francis’ medical condition, but has distributed no photos or video of him since the morning of 14 February, when he held a handful of audiences at the Vatican before being admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital for what was then just a bad case of bronchitis.
The illness progressed into a complex respiratory tract infection and double pneumonia that has sidelined Francis for the longest period of his 12-year papacy and raised questions about the future at the helm of the Catholic Church.
Doctors on Thursday reported that the pope was in stable condition, with no new respiratory crises or fever. He continued his respiratory and other physical therapy Thursday, worked, rested and prayed from the 10th-floor papal suite at Gemelli.
Given the continued stability of Pope Francis’ condition, doctors said they didn’t expect to provide a new medical update until Saturday. His prognosis remains guarded, meaning he is not out of danger.
Video editor • Rory Elliott Armstrong
