Pope 'slept well' overnight as his condition shows slight improvement: Vatican

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Pope Francis “slept well” overnight and continued to rest on Thursday morning, as his condition has shown a slight improvement over the past couple of days, the Vatican said Thursday.

"The Pope slept well during the night and is now resting," said a brief Vatican statement.

On Wednesday evening, the Vatican press office said that the pontiff's health condition had slightly improved over the previous day.

"The mild kidney insufficiency observed in recent days has subsided," it said.

"A chest CT scan carried out (on Tuesday) night showed a normal progression of the lung inflammation. Blood tests conducted (on Wednesday) confirmed the improvement seen (Tuesday)," the Vatican added.

The 88-year-old pontiff has been at Rome's Gemelli Hospital since Feb. 14 and is being treated for double pneumonia.

He was elected as Pope Benedict XVI's successor at the age of 76 on March 13, 2013, and took the name Francis.