ROME – Doctors said Monday Pope Francis is no longer in imminent danger of death as a result of pneumonia that has kept him hospitalized for nearly a month, but have decided to keep him hospitalized for several more days to receive treatment.
In a late update, the doctors said the 88-year-old pope remains stable and has consolidated improvements in recent days, as determined by blood tests and positive responses to drug treatments.
The Vatican said the doctors had lifted their previous βguardedβ prognosis, meaning they determined he was no longer in imminent danger as a result of the original respiratory infection he arrived with on Feb. 14. But their caution remained.
βHowever, in view of the complexity of the clinical picture and the important infectious picture presented on admission, it will be necessary to continue medical drug therapy in a hospital setting for additional days,β according to the Vatican statement.
In a sign of his improved health,Β FrancisΒ followed the Vaticanβs weeklong spiritual retreat via videoconference on Monday in both the morning and afternoon sessions.
As he did on Sunday, Francis participated in the retreat remotely from the Rome hospital where he is being treated. He could see and hear the Rev. Roberto Pasolini, preacher of the papal household, but the priests, bishops and cardinals gathered for the retreat in the Vatican auditorium could not see or hear him.
Pasolini is delivering a series of meditations this week on βThe hope of eternal life,β a theme that was chosen well beforeΒ Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14Β with a complex lung infection.
The retreat, an annual gathering that kicks off theΒ Catholic Churchβs solemn Lenten seasonΒ leading to Easter, continues through the week. The Vatican has said Francis would participate βin spiritual communionβ with the rest of the hierarchy, from afar.
Francis also resumed his physical and respiratory therapy at the Gemelli hospital, and rested and prayed inbetween. Francis has been using a nasal tube for supplemental oxygen to help him breathe during the day and a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask at night, therapy that he was continuing Monday.
The 88-year-old pope, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, had what was just a bad case of bronchitis when he was hospitalized last month. The infection progressed into aΒ complex respiratory tract infectionΒ and double pneumonia that has sidelined Francis for the longest period of his 12-year papacy and raised questions about the future.
Francis was still keeping his eye on things. The Vatican said he had been informed about the floods in his native Argentina and expressed his closeness to the affected population.
On Thursday, the Vatican will mark the 12th anniversary of Francisβ election, the first with the pope out of sight but still in charge. Francis was elected the 266th pope,Β the first Jesuit popeΒ and first from Latin America on March 13, 2013, following the resignation ofΒ Pope Benedict XVI.
