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.

Pope Francis' condition continues to improve and he no longer requires mechanical ventilation for help breathing at night in the treatment of double pneumonia, the Vatican said Wednesday.

Pope Francis is now on his 35th day in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, in stable condition and slowly but surely recovering from pneumonia in both lungs.