Pope Francis was hospitalized on Feb. 14 after suffering a bout of bronchitis for weeks and after increasingly finding it hard to speak publicly.

Pope Francis marked the 12th anniversary of his papacy Thursday with increasingly positive medical updates four weeks into his hospitalization for double pneumonia

Pope Francis, battling double pneumonia in hospital for almost a month, remains stable and a recent X-ray confirmed improvements in his condition that had been seen in previous days, the Vatican said on Wednesday.

Pope Francis is continuing his recovery from double pneumonia as the Vatican's Holy Year is proceeding without him.

Pope Francis had another quiet night in hospital, the Vatican said in its Friday morning update, as his recovery from bilateral pneumonia continues. The 88-year-old has now spent four weeks in hospital,