The nuns who operate the Vatican’s switchboard are fielding a growing number of calls while the pope is in the hospital.

Pope Francis is improving but still requires various in-hospital therapies, the Vatican said Saturday, even as it revealed the 88-year-old pontiff had laid plans to extend his years-long Synod process into 2028.

Pope Francis, who has been in hospital since February 14 with pneumonia in both lungs, is stable and talk has turned to when he might go home. But

Pope Francis remained stable through the day on Sunday and no longer required the use of mechanical ventilation to breathe, the Vatican said, in a sign of progress as the 88-year-old pontiff battles double pneumonia.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis is showing a "good response" to his hospital treatment for double pneumonia and his overall condition is gradually improving, the Vatican said on Saturday. Francis, 88, has been in Rome's Gemelli hospital for more than three weeks with a severe respiratory infection that has required continuously evolving treatment.

Pope Francis remains under the care of doctors, nurses and other staff at Rome's Gemelli Hospital, where he has been receiving treatment for bilateral pneumonia since Feb. 14. This week was a pivotal one for the Pope,