The 88-year-old pontiff is now able to spend some time during the day off high flows of oxygen and use just ordinary supplemental oxygen delivered by a nasal tube, the Holy See press office said. Doctors are also trying to cut back on the amount of time he uses a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask at night, to force his lungs to work more.

For the fifth successive Sunday, Pope Francis sent a brief written note from the hospital for his weekly Angelus message.

Pope Francis has spent 19 full days at Rome's Gemelli hospital, however, it doesn't come close to approaching the record-long stays of St. John Paul II during his quarter-century pontificate.