Pope Francis thanks well-wishers in audio message from hospital

Pope Francis has thanked well-wishers in an audio message he recorded in hospital. His condition has remained stable for a third day.

Transcript

00:00The message came as a surprise to well-wishers who had gathered for a nightly prayer service

00:07for Pope Francis here at St. Peter's Square.

00:10The message, which was recorded in Spanish by the 88-year-old pontiff earlier in the

00:15day, was played to the crowd and was met with applause.

00:25In the message, Pope Francis thanked those that had been praying for his recovery and

00:29he said that he is with them.

00:31He also wished blessings upon them.

00:33This is the first time that the pontiff's voice has been heard since he entered Rome's

00:37Gemelli Hospital three weeks ago.

00:39He still hasn't been seen in public.

00:42In its latest medical update, the Vatican said that his condition has stabilised.

00:47That's after he suffered two respiratory crises earlier this week.

00:50He was initially admitted to hospital with bronchitis, but is now known to be battling

00:54pneumonia in both of his lungs.

00:57His doctors have told us not to expect daily medical updates, which we've been receiving

01:01up until now.

01:03That's because his condition has been stable for a number of days and they no longer deem

01:07a running commentary of his treatment necessary.

01:10Despite these seemingly positive signs, however, the Vatican says that his prognosis is still

01:15guarded, which means that they're not confident that he's out of danger yet.