Vatican, 25 Feb

Pope Francis showed slight improvement in laboratory tests Monday and resumed some work activities, including calling a parish in Gaza City that he has kept in touch with since the war there began, the Vatican said.

The Vatican's evening bulletin was more upbeat than in recent days. It said the 88-year-old Francis, suffering from pneumonia in both lungs, hadn't had any more respiratory crises. The slight kidney insufficiency detected on Sunday was of no concern. He is continuing to receive supplemental oxygen and doctors say his prognosis remains guarded.

He received the Eucharist in the morning and resumed working in the afternoon.

“In the evening he called the parish priest of the Gaza parish to express his fatherly closeness,” the statement said.