Pope Francis has shown slight improvement in laboratory tests and resumed some work activities, including calling a parish in Gaza City that he has kept in touch with since the war there began, the Vatican says.
The Vatican’s evening bulletin on Monday (Tuesday morning AEDT) was more upbeat than in recent days. It said the 88-year-old Francis, suffering from pneumonia in both lungs, hadn’t had any more respiratory crises.
The slight kidney insufficiency detected on Sunday was of no concern and he was continuing to receive supplemental oxygen and doctors said his prognosis remains guarded.
He received the Eucharist in the morning and resumed working in the afternoon.
“In the evening he called the parish priest of the Gaza parish to express his fatherly closeness,” the statement said.
Earlier on Monday, the Vatican had announced the start of nighttime prayers for the pope’s health in St Peter’s Square, and invited Romans and others to join in, as he battles a complex lung infection and complications. The Vatican No.2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, planned to lead the first prayer on Monday evening.
