Pope Francis shows ‘further slight improvement’ on Wednesday but prognosis still ‘reserved’

Hundreds of people gathered to pray the rosary for Pope Francis’ health and recovery on Feb. 25, 2025, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. (Photo: Daniel Ibañez/CNA)

Pope Francis’ condition over the last day “has shown further slight improvement,” the Holy See Press Office states in an update Wednesday evening Rome time.

A chest CT scan performed at Gemelli Hospital on Tuesday “showed a normal evolution of the pulmonary inflammatory picture,” the statement says. The mild kidney failure the pope has experienced “has receded.”

While the pope continues “high-flow oxygen therapy,” the statement says, he has not experienced any respiratory crises.

“While registering a slight improvement, the prognosis remains reserved,” the statement says.

Pope Francis received the Eucharist in the morning and “the afternoon was devoted to work activities,” the statement concludes.