Pope Francis has published a declaration of his hospital bed by thanking the medical workers who take care of him and other people who are not well.
“While I am here, I think of many people who are … close to the patients,” he said, describing them as “bringing a little light in the night of pain”.
The pontiff has been fighting pneumonia and bronchitis for more than three weeks in the hospital, but has shown a slight improvement in recent days, according to the Vatican.
The Vatican said on Saturday that the Pope had shown a “good answer” to his treatment at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome.
“The clinical state of the Holy Father in recent days has remained stable and, therefore, indicates a good response to treatment,” said the Vatican.
“So there is a gradual and light improvement,” he added.
For the fourth consecutive Sunday, the Argentinian pontiff was not present for his weekly blessing, but the Vatican shared the text he had prepared.
Francis spoke of his “prolonged hospitalization” during which he had known “the presence of service and the sensitivity of care, in particular doctors and health workers, whom I thank from the bottom of my heart”.
“I think of many people who, in various ways, are close to the sick and who are for them a sign of the presence of the Lord.
“We need it, the” miracle of tenderness “that accompanies those who are in adversity, bringing a little light on the night of pain.”
Saturday morning, the 88 -year -old prayed The chapel of the papal suite at Gemelli Hospital Where he is treated, the Vatican said.
The Pope has not been seen in public since he entered the hospital on February 14, his longest extent of the public’s eyes since the start of his papacy 12 years ago.
He was admitted to the hospital on February 14 after having experienced breathing difficulties – and first treated for bronchitis before receiving a diagnosis of pneumonia in the two lungs.
It is particularly vulnerable to pneumonia, an infection of lungs which can be caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi, after having contracted pleurisy – inflammation of the lungs – as a young man and has had a partial withdrawal.
Pope’s doctors believe that he is likely to deal with a long recovery path, due to his age and medical history.
