Is Pope Francis turning the corner? Pontiff speaking, working from hospital room

Pope Francis reportedly experienced another comfortable night of rest and continued his daily therapy for bronchitis and pneumonia Tuesday, but the Vatican provided no indication of when he might be released from Rome's Gemelli Hospital.

"His condition is similar to yesterday," the Vatican said in a statement Tuesday, adding that "there were no other respiratory crises like that of Saturday morning."

Tuesday's statement also said that previous signs of mild renal insufficiency appeared to be under control.

Francis has been receiving high-flow oxygen since experiencing an "asthma-like respiratory crisis of prolonged intensity" Saturday morning.  Oxygen therapy continues, although with "slightly reduced flow and oxygen levels,” the Vatican said.

A statement late Monday said the pope has shown slight improvement and that doctors are maintaining a “cautious prognosis given the complexity of the clinical picture.” The pope has been working from the hospital, calling a parish in Gaza and discussing paths to sainthood for two candidates, including an American.

Francis, 88, was hospitalized Feb. 14 after battling bronchitis for more than a week. The pope had been struggling to speak and breathe during public appearances. He was also diagnosed with a polymicrobial infection.

Developments:

∎ Thousands gathered Monday in Buenos Aires to pray for Pope Francis' health during a Mass in Plaza Constitución. The pope, born Jorge Bergoglio in Argentina, often presided over celebrations in the plaza while serving as Archbishop of Buenos Aires.

∎ President Donald Trump, while greeting French President Emmanuel Macron in Washington on Monday, gave a message of support to Francis in response to a reporter's question. "It is a very serious situation, but we do want him to get well as soon as possible," Trump said.

Pope Francis shows 'slight improvement':Is working from hospital, Vatican says

Infectious disease physician sees positive signs

Pneumonia is an infection that carries a relatively high mortality rate, Dr. Thomas Russo, who heads the infectious diseases department at the University at Buffalo School of Medicine, told USA TODAY.

"If your kidneys fail, you can get dialysis, but when the lungs fail there is only so much oxygen you can deliver," Russo said.

But there are positive signs for the pope: He is taking oxygen via a tube in his nose rather than intubation, where the oxygen tube goes down the windpipe. And he has been talking, which indicates he is not too short of breath.

"The fact that he hasn't been intubated, that the kidney issue stabilized, that the oxygen flow is better, all this indicates he may be turning the corner," Russo said. "There is reason for cautious optimism. At least he's not going in the wrong direction."

But Russo warned that Francis could get another infection, a common occurence in hospitals.

"Things can changed quickly in hospitals, you need to take it day by day," he said. "You're not out of there until you are out of there."

Pope, working remotely, reaches out to Gaza parish

The pope called the pastor of Holy Family parish in war-torn Gaza on Monday to express his "paternal closeness to the people there." The pope thanked the people of the parish for sending a video message to him.

Father Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza, told the Vatican News the pope's call to his parish came as no surprise. Romanelli said the pope has called "to check in" almost every evening since the war began in October 2023.

Romanelli said that in one recent call several refugees and children were present and thanked the pope for his solidarity. They included a banner and thanking the pope in English, Spanish, Arabic and Italian.

WWII US Army chaplain on path to sainthood

The pope also met with the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, Archbishop Peña Parra, "to sign some causes for sainthood decrees."

The pope recognized the “offering of life” of Italian layman Salvo D’Acquisto and Father Emil Joseph Kapaun, who served as a U.S. Army chaplain during World War II and the Korean War. Kapaun died in a Korean prisoner of war camp in 1951.

"Offering of life” is a path to sainthood beatification and canonization introduced by Pope Francis in 2017. The protocols allow the church to recognize as saints “those Christians who, following more than closely the footsteps and teachings of the Lord Jesus, have voluntarily and freely offered their life for others and persevered with this determination unto death.”

The"offering of life" decrees means the sainthood candidates are considered "venerable." Confirmed miracles are required for beatification, the next stage in the process of canonization.

Who is Father Emil Kapaun?

Emil Joseph Kapaun was born on April 20, 1916, in Kansas and was ordained a priest in 1940. He joined the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps in 1944 and was a chaplain in the Burma theater of World War II. He later served as an Army chaplain in Korea, where he was captured and then ministered to fellow prisoners.

Kapaun died as a prisoner of war in the Pyoktong Prison Camp. He was posthumously awared the medal of honor in a White House ceremony in 2013.

How problematic is 'mild renal insufficiency'?

Renal function is measured with a creatinine lab test. A creatinine test measures how well your kidneys are performing the task of filtering waste − creatinine − from your blood. Creatinine is a chemical compound left over from energy-producing processes in your muscles. Healthy kidneys filter creatinine and other waste products out of the blood and into urine.

Dr. Robert Greenspan, a nephrologist in Alexandria Va., said some loss of renal function is normal as people age. He added that the creatinine number generally isn't as important as the change in the number over days − that is what physicians will be monitoring for the pope, he said.

"If the creatinine is stable and the urine output good there should be no problem with his recovery," Greenspan said. "Right now no alarms are going up."

What is a polymicrobial infection?  

Polymicrobial infections are caused by multiple pathogens, including bacteria, fungi or parasites. These infections can cause both chronic and short-term diseases. 

They occur when one microorganism in someone's system makes a person susceptible to a second infection by different microorganism or when two pathogens together cause a disease, according to the National Institutes of Health.