Worshippers pray for Pope Francis as 88-year-old pontiff works on church reforms during fifth week of hospital treatment

Pope Francis has entered his fifth week of treatment for double pneumonia – as he continued to work on church reforms from his hospital bed. 

The Pontiff, 88, is showing signs of recovery and his health remains on a positive trajectory, the Vatican said. 

Working from the Gemelli hospital in Rome, Pope Francis approved a three-year plan for his reform project that aims to make the church a more welcoming and responsive place. 

The Vatican office for the synod, or gathering of bishops, released a timetable through to 2028 to implement the reforms and said Francis had approved the calendar last week.

The Holy See announced on Friday that it would provide medical updates on the pope less frequently, in what it called a positive development. 

It also has ceased issuing brief morning advisories that the Pope had slept well and was starting his day.

Doctors this week said the Pontiff was no longer in critical, life-threatening condition, but have continued to emphasize that his condition remained complex due to his age, lack of mobility and the loss of part of a lung as a young man.

Francis was admitted to the hospital on February 14 after a bout of bronchitis that made it difficult for him to speak. 

Doctors soon added a diagnosis of double pneumonia and a polymicrobial (bacterial, viral and fungal) infection.

The first three weeks of his hospitalization were marked by a rollercoaster of setbacks, including respiratory crises, mild kidney failure and a severe coughing fit.

But medical updates this week have focused on his continued physical and respiratory therapy, as well as the rotation from high-flow oxygen through nostril tubes during the day and a non-invasive ventilation mask at night to help ensure his rest. 

An X-ray this week confirmed that the infection was clearing.

With little more to report, doctors on Friday cancelled a planned medical update with the next likely to be issued later today. 

Doctors have not indicated how much longer Francis will be hospitalised.

The Pope this week participated in Lenten spiritual exercises from the hospital, which Vatican officials have said implied a lighter workload. 

He received a cake and hundreds of messages wishing him well on the 12th anniversary of his papacy Thursday.

The only public sign of life from the Pope since his hospitalization was a recorded audio message thanking people for their prayers for his recovery in a weak and labored voice. 

It was played in St. Peter’s Square for the faithful gathered for a nightly recitation of the rosary prayer.

For the last four Sundays, the traditional blessing that the pope delivers from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square has been released as a text.