The Pope’s health showed a “slight improvement” during his sixth day in the hospital, said the Vatican.
Pope Francis, 88, was admitted last week to the Gemelli Hospital in Rome with a respiratory infection. He received a diagnosis of pneumonia in both lungs.
Wednesday, he was visited by Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, who said that she was “very happy to have found her alert and reactive. We joked as always. He did not lose his sense of the Proverbial humor “.
She offered him the best wishes for rapid recovery, on behalf of the Italian government and the whole country.
“Blood tests, evaluated by medical staff, show a slight improvement, especially in inflammatory clues,” the Vatican said in a statement later on Wednesday.
Earlier in the week, the Vatican said that medical tests and pulmonary x -ray showed “a complex image”.
Pneumonia is a serious infection that can ignite and heal the lungs, causing chest pain and making breathing more difficult.
The Vatican said in his last update on the fragile health of the pontiff that he was alert and had breakfast.
A Vatican official said that the Pope was still able to get out of bed and sit in an armchair in his hospital room, and that he continued to do work.
He canceled a papal audience scheduled for Saturday and is not good enough to attend mass on Sunday.
Outside the hospital, sympathizers and pilgrims continued to come together to pray, light candles and write notes of encouragement.