by Ella IDE
Pope Francis, hospitalized in critical condition with pneumonia in both lungs, is in a good mood after a peaceful night, the Vatican and a source said Monday, amid global concern over the pontiff's health.
The 88-year-old head of the Catholic Church was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on February 14 with breathing difficulties and his condition has since worsened.
But the Vatican's morning bulletin said: "The night passed well, the pope slept and is resting".
Francis "woke up and is continuing his treatment", a Vatican source said.
He was "in a good mood", "can get out of bed", "is not in pain" and was eating "normally", the source said.
The longest hospitalization of Francis's papacy has brought an outpouring of support for the pope with prayers said around the world and tributes left outside the hospital.
His initial bronchitis developed into double pneumonia and on Saturday the Vatican warned for the first time that the pope's condition was critical.
On Sunday it said Francis continues to receive "high-flow" oxygen through a nasal cannula, and blood tests demonstrated an "initial, mild, renal failure, currently under control".
Francis is alert but "the complexity of the clinical picture, and the need to wait for the pharmacological treatments to have some effect, mean that the prognosis remains reserved," it concluded.
Well-wishers left candles outside the Gemelli hospital, where Francis is in a 10th floor papal suite.
The Vatican was to hold a prayer for the pope in St Peter's Square on Monday.
Abele Donati, head of the anesthesia and intensive care unit at the Marche University Hospital, told the Corriere della Sera daily that renal failure "could signal the presence of sepsis in the early stages".
"It is the body's response to an ongoing infection, in this case of the two lungs", he said.
Professor Sergio Alfieri, who leads the Gemelli medical team treating the pope, warned on Friday that "the real risk in these cases is that the germs pass into the blood", which could result in sepsis, a life-threatening condition.
Francis's hospitalization has sparked widespread fears over the pope's recovery.
"At this moment in history, one feels the need for his figure", Jesuit theologian Antonio Spadaro, who is close to Francis, told the Repubblica daily.
There were "many people around the world, including those in positions of responsibility, who are genuinely concerned because they know that Francis is one of the few who is able to connect the dots in a world that seems to be split", he said.
The condition of the pope, who had part of one of his lungs removed as a young man, has fueled speculation about whether he might resign.
He has always left the door open to following his predecessor, Benedict XVI, who in 2013 became the first pope since the Middle Ages to step down because of his physical and mental health.
But Francis has repeatedly said it was not the time.
Spadaro agreed that a resignation should not be discussed now. "The pope is vigilant, he is exercising his pastoral duty even from his hospital bed, and -- although in a different, less visible manner -- he manifests his presence", he said.
German Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Muller told the Corriere della Sera "the pope is alive and this is the moment to pray, not think about his successor".
But had added: "We all must die. There is no eternal earthly life. The pope has a special task, but he is a man like all men".
© Agence France-Presse