VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis is showing a "good response" to his hospital treatment for double pneumonia and his overall condition is gradually improving, the Vatican said on Saturday. Francis, 88, has been in Rome's Gemelli hospital for more than three weeks with a severe respiratory infection that has required continuously evolving treatment.

With Pope Francis entering his fourth week in hospital, those working in the Apostolic Palace are grappling with the continuing uncertainty over the pope’s health. The same is true for everyone in the Vatican.

Pope Francis’s condition is improving and doctors no longer fear for his life, the Vatican said Monday, indicating the 88-year-old could even leave hospital within days. The leader of the world’s Catholics was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14 with bronchitis,