Volkswacht Bodensee - Hospitalised Pope had peaceful night, up and eating: Vatican

The 88-year-old was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital last Friday with bronchitis, but it later developed into pneumonia in both lungs, sparking widespread alarm.

In an update on Wednesday evening, the Vatican said the pope's blood tests had shown a "slight improvement" and his clinical conditions were stable.

He had enough energy to receive Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for a 20-minute visit.

The far-right leader said in a statement afterwards she found him "alert and responsive".

"We joked as always. He hasn't lost his proverbial sense of humour," she said.

The double pneumonia diagnosis comes after the pope has suffered a series of issues in recent years, from colon and hernia surgery to problems walking.

The Vatican has been issuing regular updates, however banal, in a bid to counter widespread speculation -- particularly online -- that he is dying or even dead.

In Wednesday evening's statement, it said the pope had also done some work with colleagues.

"The blood tests, evaluated by the medical staff, show a slight improvement, particularly in inflammatory indices," it said.

Following breakfast, he "dedicated himself to work activities with his closest collaborators", it added.

A Vatican source had on Wednesday said the pope was "breathing on his own. His heart is holding up very well".

- Prayers for the pope -

The pope, who has been head of the Catholic Church since 2013, keeps a full schedule despite his age and ailments, and this year is busy with celebrations of the holy Jubilee year.

But he had struggled to read his homilies in the days before his hospital admission.

The pontiff had part of his right lung cut away when he was 21, after developing pleurisy that almost killed him.

The Vatican has cancelled a papal audience on Saturday and said the pope would not attend a mass on Sunday.

But it has yet to announce plans for his weekly Angelus prayer, which is held on Sunday at midday.

Last week he missed it, but during previous hospitalisations, he has delivered it from the balcony of the Gemelli, which has a special papal suite.

Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar general of the Diocese of Rome, called on all parishes in the Italian capital to pray for the pope's recovery.

US Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic, had a similar message.

"Let's all say a prayer for Pope Francis, who appears to have some serious health issues," he wrote on social media.

Candles, some with pictures of the pope on them, have been set at the bottom of a statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital.

"I hope he recovers as soon as possible because this is the Jubilee year and he has so much to do for young people, for everyone, it's very sad," said Annamaria Santoro, an Italian woman whose son was in the same hospital.

The pope has left open the option of resigning were he to become unable to carry out his duties, as did his predecessor, Benedict XVI.

But in a memoir last year Francis said it was just a "distant possibility" that would be justified only in the event of "a serious physical impediment".

H.Kuenzler--VB