Pope Francis “resumed work activities” Tuesday, as he remained in serious condition battling double pneumonia in a Rome hospital, according to the Vatican.
The 88-year-old pope, who has been hospitalized for 12 days, received the Eucharist in the morning before later returning to his godly duties, church leaders told the Catholic News Agency.
Doctors described his health as “critical but stationary,” and said he underwent multiple tests to monitor his pneumonia diagnosis.
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The pope on Monday returned to some of his regular activities, including calling a priest in Gaza “to express his fatherly closeness,” the Associated Press reported. Every day for over a year, the pope has checked in with Rev. Gabriel Romanelli, who sheltered Palestinians in his church during the war. Before the Monday chat, Romanelli hadn’t heard from Francis in several days.
The pope, who has been in the hospital for 12 days, has not experienced any major health scares since Saturday.
On Sunday, Pope Francis posted on X to say he had received “many messages of affection.”
“I have been particularly struck by the letters and drawings from children. Thank you for your closeness, and for the consoling prayers I have received from all over the world!” he wrote.
The pneumonia has spread to both lungs, and doctors have said his recovery is uncertain, citing his age and frailty. As a young man, the pope had part of his lung removed, and the pre-existing condition could complicate his recovery.
Meanwhile, his second in command led followers Monday to pray for the pope in St. Peter’s Square, similar to the day that St. John Paul II was dying.
It was a time-old tradition, said Cardinal Pietro Parolin. “For 2,000 years the Christian people have prayed for the pope when he was in danger or sick.”
While uniting people in public prayer, she asked God to help Francis recover quickly “in this moment of illness and trial.”
There was also a standing-room-only mass inside the hospital’s chapel, only minutes from where the pope lay.
Pope Francis became head of the Catholic Church in 2013. He’s the first ever pope from Argentina, and the successor to Pope Benedict XVI who resigned due to health concerns.
