Pope participates in spiritual retreat remotely as health steadily improves

Nuns attend a Rosary prayer for Pope Francis, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican in Rome on Monday. Andrew Medichini/AP

Pope Francis’s health is heading in the right direction as doctors say he is no longer in imminent danger of death from the double pneumonia that has kept him hospitalized for nearly a month.

However, the 88-year-old will be hospitalized for several more days to receive treatment and go through rehabilitation.

“Improvements recorded in previous days were further consolidated, as confirmed by both blood tests and clinical findings, as well as by the Pope’s good response to pharmacological therapy,” the Vatican said in a release.

In another sign of his improved health, Francis followed the Vatican’s weeklong spiritual retreat via videoconference and spent some time in prayer in his private chapel.

Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, had a bad case of bronchitis when he was hospitalized last month. But the infection progressed into a complex respiratory infection and double pneumonia that has raised questions about the future of his pontificate.

On Monday, the Pope sent a telegram of prayers to those experiencing deadly flooding in the Argentinian port city of Bahía Blanca as well as the nearby city of Cerri, the Vatican said.

Editor’s note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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