Pope Francis is breathing without an oxygen mask after suffering two bouts of acute respiratory failure, the Vatican said as the pontiff spent his 19th day in hospital with pneumonia.
The 88-year-old "slept all night long and continues to rest" following yesterday's crisis, the Holy See said.
As of this morning, Pope Francis had switched from an oxygen mask to high-flow oxygen delivered through a nasal cannula, a statement read.
He is continuing his treatment and respiratory physiotherapy, it added.
In its evening update yesterday, the Vatican stressed Pope Francis's prognosis remained "reserved" - an indication that doctors cannot predict the likely outcome of his condition.
Pope Francis was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on 14 February with bronchitis, which developed into pneumonia in both lungs.
His admission has sparked widespread alarm, and well-wishers across the world have been praying for his recovery.
The Pope, who had part of a lung removed as a young man, had already suffered two breathing crises in recent days.
Yesterday he "experienced two episodes of acute respiratory failure, caused by a significant accumulation of endobronchial mucus and consequent bronchospasm," the Vatican said.
Acute respiratory failure, which can be life-threatening, occurs when the lungs cannot pass enough oxygen into the blood or when carbon dioxide builds up in the body.
Pope Francis had been breathless and struggled to read his texts in the days leading up to his admission last month to the Gemelli hospital, which has a special papal suite on the 10th floor.
On 22 February, he suffered a "prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis", followed on 28 February by "an isolated crisis of bronchospasm" - a tightening of the muscles that line the airways in the lungs.
Medical experts warned Pope Francis's continued stay in hospital and the repeated crises were alarming.
"At 88 years old, being in the hospital for two weeks and having repeated episodes of respiratory discomfort is a very bad sign," the head of the pulmonology department at Bichat hospital Bruno Crestani, told AFP.
Head of pulmonology at the European Hospital in Marseille Herve Pegliasco, added that with double pneumonia, "there is the issue of exhaustion, because he is forced to make much more effort to breathe".
The Vatican said the Pope was alert and cooperative during his latest crisis, which required two separate bronchoscopies, where doctors look into the air passages using a small camera at the base of a flexible tube.
Pope Francis has been working during his time in the Gemelli, talking on the telephone and receiving some officials, according to Vatican sources.
No visits were planned today, the Vatican press office said.
Pope Francis has not been seen in public for almost three weeks, and the last photos taken of him were from his private audiences on the morning of his admission to hospital.
He missed his traditional Angelus prayer for a third straight Sunday, and the Vatican issued a written text instead.
In it, the Pope thanked the well-wishers around the world who have been holding prayers for his recovery, including outside the hospital and every evening at St Peter's Square in the Vatican.
"I feel all your affection and closeness and, at this particular time, I feel as if I am 'carried' and supported by all God's people. Thank you all," he said.
Pope Francis has suffered numerous health issues in recent years, including colon surgery in 2021 and a hernia operation in 2023, and uses a wheelchair due to hip and knee pain.
He has always left open the option of resigning if his health declined, following the example set by his predecessor, Benedict XVI, but had repeatedly dismissed the idea before his admission to hospital.