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,

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni visited Pope Francis for 20 minutes in the hospital Wednesday and reported he was “alert and responsive” and full of good humor, despite his diagnosis of

Pope Francis is alert and still making jokes despite having double pneumonia, Italy's prime minister said Wednesday after visiting the 88-year-old pontiff in hospital.

Surgeon Sergio Alfieri spoke reassuringly of Pope Francis’s condition in English on Feb. 21, but another doctor in Italian warned the infection could be fatal if it spread to the pope’s blood.

A small group of well-wishers gathered outside the Gemelli Hospital in Rome on Tuesday where Pope Francis was admitted after developing pneumonia in both his lungs.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the results of tests conducted in recent days and Monday indicate the pope is suffering from a “polymicrobial respiratory tract infection” that has necessitated a further change in his drug therapy.

The 88-year-old pontiff remains in critical condition in a Rome hospital after a fight against pneumonia triggered an asthmatic respiratory crisis requiring high-flow oxygen therapy and blood transfusions.

Some encouraging signs tonight about Pope Francis's condition. The Vatican saying that there's been some slight improvement, that he is stable, and that he was able to meet with Prime Minister of Italy,

Pope Francis, hospitalized Friday with bronchitis, has a "polymicrobial respiratory tract infection," the Vatican said Monday, and his "complex clinical picture" will "require an appropriate hospital stay" in Rome's A.

Pope Francis has been admitted to hospital after a case of bronchitis persisted for more than a week, a Vatican spokesman said on Friday.