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 "had a tranquil night and woke shortly after 8 a.m.," the Vatican said, coming a day after he made his first public comments since being hospitalized.
Pope Francis is showing a "good response" to his treatment in hospital for double pneumonia and his overall condition is gradually improving, the Vatican said on Saturday. Francis, 88, has been in Rome's Gemelli hospital for more than three weeks with a severe respiratory infection that has required continuously evolving treatment.
Pope Francis remained stable through the day on Sunday and no longer required the use of mechanical ventilation to breathe, the Vatican said, in a sign of progress as the 88-year-old pontiff battles double pneumonia.