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VATICAN CITY: A chest X-ray has confirmed a “slight improvement” in Pope Francis’s lungs as he recovers from five weeks in hospital with life-threatening pneumonia, the Vatican said on Tuesday.
The 88-year-old Catholic leader left Rome’s Gemelli hospital on March 23 after a stay in which doctors said he had almost died twice, returning to the Vatican for a convalescence of at least two months.
The Vatican press office said a chest X-ray carried out in recent days confirmed a “slight improvement” in his pulmonary infection.
Improvements were also reported in his motor skills, voice and breathing. Although he continues to use oxygen through a cannula, the Argentine pontiff can remove it for short periods.
His doctors previously said that with double pneumonia the lungs are damaged and the respiratory muscles are strained, so it can take time for the voice to return to normal.
Francis remains in the Santa Marta guesthouse, taking part in mass every morning in the chapel on the second floor where he has lived since becoming head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics in March 2013.
He has had no visits beyond his doctors and closest associates, the Vatican said, adding that his morale remained “good.”
The Argentine pope missed his seventh successive Angelus prayer on Sunday and there is no word on whether he will make an appearance this weekend, although another briefing is due on Friday.
The Vatican has also declined to say how the pope will participate in upcoming events for Easter, the holiest period in the Christian calendar, although it has included on its schedule the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” blessing on Easter Sunday – which only a pope can deliver.
Francis has been largely out of the public eye since he was admitted to hospital on February 14.
On the day he left the Gemelli, he appeared in a wheelchair on a hospital balcony, waving his hands from his lap to the hundreds of pilgrims gathered below to greet him.
He spoke a few words in a weak voice, saying through a microphone: “Thank you, everyone.”
He then noted a woman below with yellow flowers, and added: “Well done.”
Francis then was spotted being driven away from the hospital, a cannula in his nose.

KYIV: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “playing for time” in negotiations over the war in Ukraine as she arrived on a visit to Kyiv on Tuesday.
“Ukraine is ready for an immediate ceasefire. It is Putin who is playing for time, does not want peace and is continuing his war of aggression, which is a violation of international law,” Baerbock said in a statement shared by her ministry.
“He is feigning a willingness to negotiate, but not deviating an inch from his goals,” she said on her ninth visit to Ukraine since the start of the war.
On March 11, Ukraine, whose army is struggling on the frontline, and the United States agreed a plan for a 30-day ceasefire with Russia.
But Putin has rejected the US proposal and has upped his rhetoric on Moscow wanting to install new leadership in Ukraine.
Baerbock was visiting Kyiv for the first time since the re-election of US President Donald Trump, who has upended US-Europe relations by reaching out to Russia over European heads to seek an end to the conflict.
The shift in policy has sparked concern over the future of the NATO alliance and prompted Europe to focus on boosting its own defense capabilities and upping its support for Ukraine.
Germany in March approved three billion euros ($3.25 billion) in new military aid for Ukraine after adopting a major new spending package that eased its traditionally strict debt rules.
“In view of the deadlock between the United States and Russia, it is absolutely vital that we Europeans show that we stand by Ukraine’s side... and support it now more than ever,” Baerbock said.
Commemorations were held in Ukraine on Monday in the city of Bucha, where Russia’s army is accused of murdering hundreds of civilians three years ago.