Faithful make the sign of the cross during a rosary vigil prayer for Pope John Paul II's health in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Friday, April 1,

Photographer's shadows are cast on a marble statue of late Pope John Paul II outside the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome where Pope Francis is being treated for pneumonia, Thursday,

Nuns pray in front of the statue of late Pope John Paul II outside Gemelli Hospital, where Pope Francis continues his treatment for pneumonia, in Rome, Italy. Poplar trees next to Sefton Park Allotments in Liverpool cast long shadows in the evening sun.

Decorated candles and flowers are placed at the base of the statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Gemelli Hospital, where Pope Francis is admitted for treatment, in Rome, Italy, February 23, 2025.

A statue of late Pope John Paul II stands outside the Gemelli Hospital where Pope Francis is receiving medical treatment Outside the Gemelli Hospital in Rome stands a large statue of one of its most famous patients,

A view shows the statue of late Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli Hospital where Pope Francis is admitted to continue treatment for his ongoing respiratory tract infection, in Rome, Italy, February 19,

Candles are left at the foot of a marble monument of late Pope John Paul II outside Rome's Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic where Pope Francis is being treated for pneumonia, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. Nuns pray for Pope Francis in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic,

The Vatican said doctors had to put him on noninvasive mechanical ventilation following a coughing fit in which he inhaled vomit that needed to then be extracted.

The pope was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14 after experiencing difficulty breathing for several days and subsequently had pneumonia diagnosed in both lungs.

Pope Francis is alert and cheerful as he battles double pneumonia in hospital, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Wednesday after paying a visit to the ailing leader of the 1.4-billion-member Roman Catholic Church.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni visited Pope Francis for 20 minutes in the hospital Wednesday and reported he was “alert and responsive” and full of good humor, despite his diagnosis of pneumonia and a complicated bronchial infection that has sidelined the 88-year-old pontiff for six days.