Pope Francis has received Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at his sickbed, where he is being treated for double-sided pneumonia since Friday. Meloni said after the visit that the 88-year-old pope was "alert and present" and was in good spirits.
"We joked, as we always do", Meloni wrote in a statement after the meeting.
A source within the Vatican announced simultaneously that Francis can breathe without medical assistance, and that he can sit up in a chair and work for shorter periods.
In addition to double-sided pneumonia, the pope has been afflicted with a bronchitis, which has led to him cancelling all engagements for the coming days. He is being treated at the Gemelli hospital in Rome.
