Pope Francis is showing signs of improvement in his battle with double pneumonia, the Vatican announced Friday.
However, the 88-year-old will not lead next week’s Ash Wednesday service, which marks the start of Lent.
The pope, who has been hospitalized at Rome's Gemelli hospital for two weeks, was admitted on Feb. 14 due to a severe respiratory infection that led to additional complications.
While the Vatican has not confirmed how long Francis will remain in the hospital, his absence from the traditional service on March 5 suggests his recovery may extend into next week.
The service, which begins the 40-day period leading up to Easter Sunday, was instead entrusted to a senior Vatican official.
In a medical update Thursday, the Vatican said the pontiff's condition "continued to show improvement," but his prognosis remained guarded due to the complexity of his infection.
A Vatican official, who did not wish to be named because he was not authorized to discuss the pope's health, noted that Thursday's statement was the second consecutive one that did not describe the pope's condition as "critical."
"Maybe we can say he has passed the most critical phase," said the official.
The Vatican's next medical update was expected Friday evening.
Francis, who has been pope since 2013 and is often described as working himself to exhaustion, has continued leading the Vatican from the hospital. Staff appointments requiring his approval are announced daily.
On Friday, the Vatican released a papal letter to participants in a church training course in Rome, which was signed by Francis with a note stating it was sent "from Gemelli hospital."
Cardinal Michael Czerny, head of the Vatican's development office, said in an interview with Italy's La Stampa newspaper that Francis was getting better, albeit "slower than what we would like."
Francis has suffered several bouts of ill health over the past two years. He is prone to lung infections because he developed pleurisy as a young adult and had part of one lung removed.
Double pneumonia is a serious infection of both lungs that can inflame and scar them, making it difficult to breathe. The Vatican said Francis suffered a "prolonged asthma-like respiratory crisis" on Saturday, but there have been no repeats.
