Pope showing 'good response' to treatment, says Vatican

Pope Francis is responding well to treatment at a Rome hospital for pneumonia, the Vatican said Saturday, adding that the 88-year-old's condition had seen "a gradual, slight improvement."

"The Holy Father's clinical condition in recent days has remained stable and, consequently, testifies to a good response to treatment. There is therefore a gradual, slight improvement," the Holy See said in an update.

But as a precaution, his doctors have decided to keep his prognosis as guarded, it added, meaning the head of the Catholic Church isn't out of danger.

The Vatican also said Francis had worked and rested during the day Saturday.

The 88-year-old pope was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on February 14 for what was initially a bad case of bronchitis.

The infection progressed into a complex respiratory tract infection and double pneumonia.

Pope Francis already had chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man.

He has been given high flows of supplemental oxygen during the day and a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask at night.

Cardinal steps in for ailing pope

In his absence, the Vatican's day-to-day operations continued, with Cardinal Pietro Parolin celebrating Mass for a pro-life group in St. Peter's Basilica.

At the start, Parolin delivered a message from the pope from hospital on the need to protect life, from birth to natural death.

The message, dated March 5, encouraged the faithful to promote pro-life activities not just for the unborn, but "for the elderly, no longer independent or the incurably ill."

On Friday, Francis spent 20 minutes in the Gemelli hospital chapel, praying and doing some work in between rest and respiratory and physical therapy, the Vatican said.

His current illness has sidelined Francis for the longest period of his 12-year papacy and raised questions about the future.

Dr. Jeffrey Millstein, a clinical assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, warned the pope's condition was "a precarious, touch and go kind of situation" and that recovery, while still possible, would be a long process.