Cindy Wooden

Pope Francis no longer needs the “noninvasive mechanical ventilation” he has used most nights since experiencing a breathing “crisis” Feb. 28, his doctors reported in a bulletin released by the Vatican press office March 19.

For the first time since Pope Francis was hospitalized in mid-February, the Vatican press office released a photograph of him March 16; the image shows him concelebrating Mass that morning in the chapel of his suite of rooms at Rome’s Gemelli hospital.

Pope Francis’ condition continues to be stable and a chest X-ray “confirmed the improvements recorded in the previous days,” his doctors said, but without saying his double pneumonia had cleared up completely.

Pope Francis’ condition continued to be stable with further slight improvements March 11, the Vatican press office said.