As he begins his fourth week in a Rome hospital, Pope Francis is showing a "gradual" improvement, the Vatican said. Pope Francis is responding well to treatment at a Rome hospital for pneumonia, the Vatican said Saturday,

Pope Francis is responding well to the treatment for double pneumonia and has shown a ''gradual, slight improvement'' in recent days, the Vatican said Saturday. But his doctors have decided to keep his prognosis as guarded,

Pope Francis is on the mend, showing a slight improvement in his health, which has allowed him to welcome a visit from Cardinal Pietro Parolin. They discussed important matters concerning the Vatican,

The Vatican’s Tuesday noon bulletin contained a series of significant decisions Francis had taken, most importantly that he had met on Monday with Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, the Vatican “substitute” or chief of staff.

The Vatican has set in motion nightly prayers for Pope Francis in the hope that he might recover and get back to leading the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis entered his fourth week in hospital with double pneumonia on Saturday, increasingly handing off his day-to-day duties.