Pope Francis’ health condition is not life-threatening, but he is not out of danger, his medical team said at a press conference on Friday.
The 88-year-old was admitted to to Rome’s Gemelli hospital in a “fair” condition on February 14 after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened.
Francis’ doctors delivered their first update on the Pope’s condition, saying that he will remain in hospital for all of next week at least.
The Pope is receiving occasional supplements of oxygen through a nasal canula when he needs it and is responding to strengthened drug therapy to fight pneumonia and a complex lung infection, his doctors said.
Gemelli hospital Dr Sergio Alfieri and Francis’ personal physician, Dr Luigi Carbone said the Pope’s drug therapy was “strengthened” after the pneumonia was diagnosed earlier this week.
They confirmed that there was no evidence of sepsis, a life-threatening infection which can lead to organ failure and death.
He is also fighting a multipronged infection of bacteria and virus in the respiratory tract.
Last week, doctors confirmed a respiratory tract infection and prescribed “absolute rest” alongside unspecified drug therapies.
Subsequent updates said his slight fever had gone away and that he was in “stable” condition.
Before the medical team’s update, the Vatican said that Francis marked the one-week point in his hospital stay by getting up and out of bed to eat breakfast.
Late Thursday, the Vatican reported a “slight improvement” in his overall clinical condition, with his heart working well.
But, as his hospital stay drags on, some of Francis’ cardinals have begun responding to the obvious question that is circulating, whether Francis might resign if he becomes irreversibly sick and unable to carry on.
Francis has said he would consider it, after Pope Benedict XVI “opened the door” to popes retiring, but has shown no signs of stepping down and in fact has asserted recently that the job of pope is for life.
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