ROME (Reuters) -Pope Francis, who is receiving treatment for a respiratory tract infection, had a peaceful night in Rome’s Gemelli hospital, Italy’s ANSA news agency reported on Sunday.
Francis, 88, will not appear in public on Sunday to lead his usual weekly prayer with pilgrims, the Vatican said on Saturday, because he has been told to rest.
The pontiff has been suffering from bronchitis for more than a week and was admitted to hospital on Friday morning.
Francis briefly watched some of the main evening news bulletin on Italy’s RAI TV at 8 p.m. (1900 GMT) on Saturday before having a restful night, ANSA reported.
A Vatican statement released late on Saturday said that the pope had been “prescribed complete rest” in order to help his recovery.
The pope’s treatment on Saturday was “slightly modified based on further microbiological findings”, the statement said. “Today’s laboratory tests showed an improvement in some values,” it added.
The Vatican has said the pope would remain in hospital as long as necessary for his treatment.
Francis, who has been pontiff since 2013, has had influenza and other health problems several times over the past two years.
(Writing by Keith Weir; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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