Pope Francis continued his recovery from pneumonia Tuesday as the Vatican set in motion a nightly marathon of prayers from “his house” and allies cheered him on from afar in hopes that he might recover and get back to leading the Catholic Church.

The Vatican on Monday announced the start of nighttime prayers for the health of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square, and invited Romans and others to join in, as the 88-year-old pontiff battled a complex lung infection and complications.

Even while Pope Francis is hospitalized, he still keeps in touch with a Roman Catholic parish in Gaza City, making near-nightly phone calls to the priest and congregation there.

The Vatican says Pope Francis remains in critical condition but has showed slight improvement in laboratory tests. He has resumed some work activities, including calling a parish in Gaza City that he has kept in touch with since the war there began.

Pope Francis, who has been hospitalized for more than a week, remains in “critical” condition and developed an “asthmatic respiratory crisis” earlier on Saturday, the Vatican said in a statement.

From his hospital bed, Pope Francis stays in touch with Catholic parishioners in Gaza ROME, Italy — Pope Francis ... blackout in the whole area of Gaza City, he insisted and managed to contact ...

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican's lead diplomat on Thursday criticised President Donald Trump's plan for the U.S. to displace Palestinians from Gaza and "take over" the territory, in the second rebuke of a Trump policy by a top Catholic official this week.

ROME, Italy — Pope Francis remains in the ... "Although we had a blackout in the whole area of Gaza City, he insisted and managed to contact us with a video call," he said, according to the ...