Pope Francis shows ‘slight improvement’ during fourth week in hospital, Vatican says

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Pope Francis shares first audio message of thanks since being hospitalized

Pope Francis thanked his well-wishers in a message taken from Rome’s Gemelli hospital, which was shared in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican. (Credit: Reuters)

Pope Francis has apparently shown “slight improvement” and is responding well to ongoing oxygen therapy, according to a statement from the Vatican. 

The 88-year-old pontiff has been in the hospital since Feb. 14, when he was admitted for respiratory issues that were later found to be bilateral pneumonia.

Doctors are keeping the pope’s prognosis under wraps as they continue to evaluate his condition.

Mexican painter Roberto Marquez places a painting of Pope Francis he made outside the Agostino Gemelli hospital in Rome, Wednesday, March 5, 2025.  (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

On Thursday, the pope recorded a message thanking those who had been praying for his recovery. The recording was “clearly an effort for him,” Vatican sources said, pointing out that the noise from the pope’s oxygen machine could be heard in the audio.

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“We could hear yesterday that he was getting oxygen through the nose during audio, clearly he won’t read Angelus,” Vatican sources told Fox News.

Pope Francis waves to believers as he leaves the Cercle Cite after a meeting Luxembourg’s prime minister during a four-day apostolic journey in Luxembourg and Belgium, in Luxembourg city on Sept. 26, 2024.  (Simon Wohlfahrt/AFP/Getty)

Ash Wednesday also looked different this year, as the pope was unable to lead mass. Instead, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis read the pope’s homily aloud at Rome’s Santa Sabrina Basilica.

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The pope has had a long history of respiratory issues. When he was just 21 years old, Pope Francis had part of his lung removed after developing pleurisy, which is an inflammation of the membranes that cushion the lungs. Now, according to Vatican sources, he is continuing therapy for bilateral pneumonia.

The Pope has been hospitalized since  Feb. 14 with pneumonia and a bronchial infection. Candles with the pictures of him are the laid under the statue of late Pope John Paul II in Rome on Feb. 19, 2025.  (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

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Catholics across the globe have prayed for Pope Francis since he was first hospitalized in February. This includes Vice President JD Vance, who offered a prayer for the pope during last month’s National Prayer Breakfast.

“Every day me and my children have said a prayer for the Holy Father, and we pray for his health, and we pray for his comfort as he deals with what appears to be a pretty serious health crisis,” Vance said.

Rachel Wolf is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business.