Pope Francis has shown a "gradual, slight improvement" after more than three weeks in the hospital, the Vatican said Saturday.

The Vatican press office on Saturday described “a good response to therapy” and a “gradual, slight improvement” since the pope’s episodes of acute respiratory failure on Monday.

Pope Francis is showing a "good response" to his treatment in hospital 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.