Pope Francis has stopped using an oxygen mask, the Vatican revealed on Wednesday.
It added that the Pope’s clinical condition was “improving” after over one month in hospital.
The 88-year-old has been in Rome’s Gemelli hospital since February 14, suffering from pneumonia in both lungs.
But the Vatican has claimed the Pope is making progress in recent days amid worries that his life could be at risk.
“The Holy Father’s clinical conditions are confirmed to be improving,” the Vatican said in a medical bulletin.
It added that he has “suspended non-invasive mechanical ventilation and also reduced the need for high-flow oxygen therapy.”
The press office later clarified that suspension of the oxygen mask did not mean it could not be reintroduced further down the line, and added that Francis’s discharge from hospital was “not imminent”.
Francis’s pneumonia has not been “eliminated”, but was “under control”, it said.