'Too soon' to discuss pope's return home, says Vatican source

Pope Francis, in hospital with pneumonia, is showing slight signs of improvement but it is too early to discuss his return home, a Vatican source said Monday.

The 88-year-old leader of the world's Catholics was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on February 14 and suffered a series of breathing crises, the last of which was seven days ago.

Since then, doctors have described his clinical situation as "stable" and at the weekend said there were "slight improvements... in a complex overall picture".

But "it is too soon to talk about his return to Santa Marta", the guest house within the tiny city state where the pope lives, a Vatican source said Monday.

Francis spent a quiet night in his suite on the 10th floor of the Gemelli and was spending the day doing physical and respiratory therapy, according to the Vatican.

As on previous mornings, he also switched from the oxygen mask he uses nightly to a cannula -- a plastic tube tucking into the nostrils -- which delivers high-flow oxygen, it said.

The leader of the world's nearly 1.4 billion Catholics has been working on and off, and following the news where possible -- including deadly floods that have hit his homeland of Argentina.

Francis "is close to the people of the Bahia Blanca area in thought and prayer", the Vatican said Monday, referring to the port city where 16 people have died.

- 'Gesture of closeness' -

The pope has suffered a series of health issues in recent years, from colon surgery in 2021 to a hernia operation in 2023, but this is the longest and most serious stay in hospital of his papacy.

During previous stays, he has appeared on the Gemelli balcony for his weekly Sunday Angelus prayer.

But on Sunday he missed for the fourth time delivering the traditional Angelus prayer in person.

He instead issued a written one, in which he thanked his doctors for his care during the more than three weeks that he has been an in-patient.

"I too experience the thoughtfulness of service and the tenderness of care, in particular from the doctors and healthcare workers, whom I thank from the bottom of my heart," he said.

Francis has not been seen in person since he was admitted, though he released a breathless audio message on Thursday thanking people for their prayers.

Hearing from the pope, however weak he sounded, was hailed a sign of hope by some faithful. Others said it brought home just how long his recovery could take.

The Vatican has issued near daily medical bulletins about Francis's health, which has experienced incremental improvements marked by occasional setbacks.

Another medical bulletin is expected for Monday afternoon.

Though the pope does not have a fever, his doctors want to see more positive results in days ahead before offering a prognosis.

Catholics continue to gather at the Gemelli to pray for Francis or leave flowers, candles and cards.

On Sunday, some 180 people from dioceses near Milan -- most of them young -- sat in front of the hospital to recite prayers together.

"We said let's go to the pope, at the Gemelli, and pray for him. He will not hear us, he will not see us, we won't see him, but it's a gesture of closeness," 32-year-old priest Marco Ferrari told AFP.