By Crispian Balmer
VATICAN CITY, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Pope Francis, who is in critical condition in hospital battling double pneumonia, is alert, rested well throughout the night and is continuing his treatment, the Vatican said on Tuesday.
The 88-year-old pope is spending his 12th day at Rome's Gemelli hospital, in the longest hospital stay of his nearly 12-year-old papacy.
"The pope rested well all night," the Vatican said in a one-sentence statement that did not provide further details.
A Vatican official, who did not wish to be named because he was not authorised to speak about the pope's condition, said Francis was eating normally, moving about his hospital room, and continuing his treatment.
On Monday, the Vatican said the pontiff's condition remained critical but had shown a "slight improvement", adding that a "mild kidney insufficiency", first reported at the weekend, was not a cause for concern.
Double pneumonia is a serious infection of both lungs that can inflame and scar them, making it difficult to breathe. The Vatican has described the pope's infection as "complex", and said it was caused by two or more microorganisms.
Francis, who has been pope since 2013, has suffered several bouts of ill health over the past two years. He is prone to lung infections because he developed pleurisy as a young adult and had part of one lung removed.
Thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square on Monday evening to pray for the pope's recovery.
His friend, the Honduran cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, told Italy's la Repubblica newspaper: "I think ... it's not time for him to go to heaven yet."
The pope signalled in early February that he had a bad cold, which meant he could not read out his speeches. Despite this, he continued to have meetings every day and even take part in open-air Masses, despite the chill.
Some well-wishers have said he should have taken better care of himself, but Maradiaga defended Francis' work ethic.
"He is aware that he has a mission he must carry out, and nothing stops him. The pope explained that he did not accept his election (as pontiff) in order to rest," he said.
In Monday's statement, the Vatican said Francis had resumed working in his self-contained apartment within the Gemelli hospital and had called the Catholic parish in Gaza, which he has done frequently during the Israel-Hamas war.
The Vatican is expected to send another medical bulletin at around 7 p.m. (1800 GMT).
(Reporting by Crispian Balmer and Joshua McElwee; Editing by Alvise Armellini, Janet Lawrence and Kevin Liffey)
