Pope Francis, who is responding well to treatment for pneumonia, thanked his doctors and healthcare workers Sunday as he missed delivering a fourth straight Angelus prayer in person.
The 88-year-old, in Rome’s Gemelli hospital since February 14, issued a written Angelus in which he thanked those who volunteer to help others in need, praising their “closeness and tenderness”.
“I too experience the thoughtfulness of service and the tenderness of care, in particular from the doctors and healthcare workers, whom I thank from the bottom of my heart,” he said.
“We need this, the ‘miracle of tenderness’ which accompanies those who are in adversity, bringing a little light into the night of pain,” he said in the text published by the Vatican.
On Saturday, the Vatican said the pope appeared finally to be responding well to treatment and had seen “a gradual, slight improvement”, marking several days without crises.
Though the pope does not have a fever, his doctors want to see the more positive results “in the coming days” before giving a prognosis, an evening medical bulletin said.