Candles are left at the foot of a marble monument of late Pope John Paul II outside Rome's Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic where Pope Francis is being treated for pneumonia, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. Nuns pray for Pope Francis in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic,

Photographer's shadows are cast on a marble statue of late Pope John Paul II outside the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome where Pope Francis is being treated for pneumonia, Thursday,

The large number of journalists assembled near St Peter’s Square wait each evening for the latest update with some, like the revelation that the Pope had a "prolonged asthma-like respiratory crisis", causing concern about the 88-year-old pontiff who had part of a lung removed as a young man after he contracted pleurisy.

On Wednesday, the Vatican said Pope Francis “had a tranquil night, woke up and had breakfast,” saying he was in good spirits.

The Vatican has canceled papal audiences through the weekend and delegated others to cover for Pope Francis as the 88-year-old pope remains hospitalized with a multi-pronged respiratory infection.

Hospitalized in critical condition with double pneumonia, Pope Francis was well enough to meet with the Vatican secretary of state to approve new decrees for possible saints and make some major governing decisions that suggest he is getting essential work done while remaining very much in charge.

Rome's Gemelli hospital, where Pope Francis is being treated for pneumonia, is the favoured choice of pontiffs — to the point of being dubbed "Vatican III" by John Paul II. The 88-year-old Francis is on his fourth stay at the Gemelli since 2021.

Pope Francis, who is spending his sixth day in hospital for treatment of a respiratory infection, is alert and ate breakfast on Wednesday, the Vatican said in its latest update on the pontiff's fragile health.

In a quiet chapel within Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, a doctor kneels before the Blessed Sacrament in his white coat. The hospital Holy Hour is one of many prayer initiatives that have sprung up in the Eternal City this week.

The Vatican created a mini-residence on site, a top-floor apartment guarded by police. Read more at straitstimes.com.