VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis celebrated the start of the Lent religious season from his hospital suite, the 88-year-old's condition stable but still complex as he undergoes treatment for double pneumonia, the Vatican said.
The Argentine pontiff, head of the worldwide Catholic Church, has been in Rome's Gemelli hospital since February 14, suffering several respiratory attacks that have sparked alarm across the globe.
In its evening update on Wednesday, the Vatican said his condition was stable and he spent the day in an armchair, with no repeat of Monday's episodes of respiratory failure.
Francis missed the formal Ash Wednesday celebrations in Rome marking the start of Lent, but took part in a blessing in the private suite reserved for popes on the 10th floor of the Gemelli.
He also did some work and in the morning made what had previously been his daily call to the only Catholic priest in Gaza, the Vatican said.
However, it added that "given the complexity of the clinical picture, the prognosis remains reserved", meaning doctors will not say how they expect his condition to evolve.
His absence was keenly felt at the Ash Wednesday procession and mass in Rome marking the start of Lent, 40 days of prayer and sacrifice before Easter, the holiest period in the Christian calendar.
Italian Cardinal Angelo De Donatis read out the pope's homily at the mass at the Santa Sabina basilica, attended by around 20 red-clad cardinals.
"We feel deeply united with him at this moment and we thank him for the offering of his prayers and his sufferings for the good of the entire Church, and the whole world," De Donatis said of the pontiff at the start.