The statement added that while ventilation had been “suspended”, the pope still receives oxygen via a small plastic tube under his nose. The Vatican press office also said tha

Pope Francis is no longer using mechanical ventilation for help breathing at night and his doctors believe he will continue to improve, the Vatican said on Wednesday, in the latest positive update as the 88-year-old pontiff battles pneumonia.

On March 18, the Italian daily paper Corriere della Serra published a letter from Pope Francis where he said his hospitalization has heightened his awareness to the "absurdity of war."