Pope Francis has discontinued using an oxygen mask, according to the Vatican’s announcement on Wednesday, noting that the 88-year-old’s health has been “improving” after over a month in the hospital.
The Argentine pope has been admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital since February 14 due to pneumonia affecting both lungs, but the Vatican has reported positive developments after previous concerns regarding his health.
“The Holy Father’s clinical situation is confirmed to be improving,” the Vatican stated in its medical update.
He has “discontinued non-invasive mechanical ventilation and also decreased the requirement for high-flow oxygen therapy,” the report added, emphasizing advancements in the pope’s motor and respiratory physiotherapy.
However, the press office later advised that stopping the oxygen mask does not imply that it couldn’t be reinstated in the future and also indicated that Francis’s release from the hospital was “not imminent.” While Francis’s pneumonia has not been “eliminated,” it is “under control,” the update indicated.
Earlier this weekend, the Vatican said that the Jesuit pope still needed therapies to be administered from the hospital.
Following a series of breathing difficulties earlier in his hospital stay, the pope’s breathing has notably improved over the past week, with the Vatican announcing on Monday that he has been spending brief moments breathing independently.
Throughout the day, he has depended on a cannula—a plastic tube placed in his nostrils—to provide high-flow oxygen, which doctors are now beginning to reduce.
Until this week, Francis had been using an oxygen mask, but on Tuesday, the Vatican reported that he had successfully gone without one for the first time.
As an indication of the pope’s progress in the past week, the Vatican’s press office mentioned that the following medical bulletin is unlikely to be released before Monday.
The pope’s illness and extended hospital stay have sparked discussions about who might oversee the busy schedule of religious events leading up to Easter, the most significant time in the Christian calendar.
