Pallade Veneta - Pope 'rested well' on eighth night in hospital: Vatican

Francis was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on February 14 with bronchitis, but it turned into pneumonia in both lungs, causing widespread alarm.

The pontiff's doctors had told a press conference on Friday there was no imminent risk to his life but that he was "not out of danger".

The Vatican's early morning update Saturday was shorter than usual, without mentioning that he had eaten, saying simply: "Pope Francis rested well."

The Gemelli's Professor Sergio Alfieri told reporters Friday that the pontiff's condition has been slightly improving, allowing doctors to incrementally lower the amount of medication he is taking.

"The question is, is the pope out of danger? No, the pope is not out of danger," Alfieri said.

"If you then ask whether he is in danger of dying at this moment, the answer is still no," he added.

His hospitalisation has cast doubt over Francis's ability to continue as head of the world's almost 1.4 billion Catholics.

But Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin dismissed this as "useless speculation" in an interview published Saturday with Italy's Corriere della Sera daily.

"Now we are thinking about the health of the Holy Father, his recovery, his return to the Vatican: these are the only things that matter," the cardinal said.

Parolin said he personally had not yet been to see the pope, saying he was available but so far there was no need.

"It is better if he remains protected and has as few visitors as possible, to allow him to rest and make the treatment he is undergoing more effective," he added.

- In hospital all week -

Francis, who is staying in a special papal suite on the 10th floor of the Gemelli hospital, has been moving between his bed, a chair and an adjacent chapel where he prays.

He will remain in hospital "at least for all next week", Alfieri said.

"If we send him to Santa Marta (his home at the Vatican), he'll start working again as before," he said.

Asked if the pope would be well enough to lead the Angelus prayer from his hospital window this Sunday, Alfieri said "the pope will decide".

The doctor said "the real risk in these cases is that the germs pass into the blood", which could result in sepsis, a life-threatening condition.

Doctor Luigi Carbone said the pope, who had part of one of his lungs removed as a young man, now has a chronic lung condition and "is by definition a fragile patient".

But Alfieri stressed that "at the same time, he has incredible resilience -- How many others would have endured all these infections with the workload he has?"

He added that Francis has difficulty breathing but was not on any machines and was "in good spirits". He still has the wit of "a 70-year-old, maybe a 50-year-old".

But Francis's absence from the Vatican means questions are being raised over the future of a leader with a punishing schedule who has been increasingly plagued by health issues in recent years.

Since 2021 he has undergone colon and hernia surgery, is overweight and suffers constant hip and knee pain, which force him to use a wheelchair most of the time.

Francis is also one of the oldest popes ever -- and though he has said the job is for life, the pope has left the door open to resigning like his predecessor Benedict XVI.

O.Merendino--PV