The 88-year-old pope has remained stable, with no fever and good oxygen levels in his blood for several days, doctors said.

Pope Francis is responding well to the treatment for double pneumonia and has shown a ''gradual, slight improvement'' in recent days, the Vatican said Saturday. But his doctors have decided to keep his prognosis as guarded,

In his absence, the Vatican’s day-to-day operations continued, with Cardinal Pietro Parolin celebrating Mass for an anti-abortion group in St Peter’s Basilica