Pope Francis is alert, got out of bed to eat breakfast and is showing signs of “slight improvement,” the Vatican said Thursday — nearly a week after the pontiff was rushed to hospital battling double pneumonia.
The 88-year-old pontiff, who has been undergoing treatment at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, slept well overnight and had breakfast sitting in an armchair, a Vatican spokesman said in the latest health update.
The pope’s condition was stable and he had shown “slight improvement” in recent blood tests, according to the Vatican.
A Vatican official, who didn’t want to be named, confirmed Francis was not on a ventilator and was breathing on his own.
The pope was able to move around his hospital room, was taking phone calls and was still doing paperwork, the official added.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited the pontiff on Wednesday and said he was “alert and responsive” — and even joked about people betting on his death, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported.
“He hasn’t lost his proverbial sense of humor,” Meloni said in a statement.
Francis was admitted to the hospital on Feb. 14 after a bout of bronchitis worsened and he struggled with breathing difficulties for several days.
The pontiff’s latest illness is the latest in a long history of health problems he’s endured over the years.
With Post wires
