By Crispian Balmer and Joshua McElwee
VATICAN CITY, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Pope Francis' health is continuing to improve, the Vatican said on Thursday, offering a cautiously upbeat assessment as the 88-year-old pontiff battles against double pneumonia.
Francis is spending his 14th night in Rome's Gemelli hospital with the severe respiratory infection, which triggered various complications.
"The clinical condition of the Holy Father continued to show improvement today," the latest detailed update read.
The doctors, it said, have still given the pope a "guarded" prognosis because of the "complexity of the clinical picture", meaning they do not think he is out of danger yet.
However, a Vatican official, who did not wish to be named because he was not authorised to discuss the pope's health, noted that Thursday's statement was the second running that did not describe the pope's condition as 'critical'.
"Maybe we can say he has passed the most critical phase," said the official.
Thursday's update is the third consecutive positive readout about the pope's health as he fights an infection his doctors say is polymicrobial, meaning it is caused by two or more micro-organisms.
The new statement said the pope was still receiving oxygen, including via a ventimask, or a light plastic mask that fits over the mouth and nose.
The Vatican official said the mask allowed for a more comfortable flow of oxygen as compared to the nasal tube the pope had previously been using.
Use of the mask did not indicate any new difficulty in the pope's breathing, said the official.
Francis, known to work himself to exhaustion, has continued leading the Vatican from the hospital, as staff appointments requiring his approval are announced daily.
On Wednesday, it said he had created a commission to encourage donations to help address a widening gap in finances, including an 83-million-euro ($87 million) budget shortfall.
The Vatican has been much more forthcoming about the pope's health than in the past, trying to pre-empt the spread of misinformation. Brief early-morning statements are followed daily by more detailed evening updates.
The Vatican said a public audience on Saturday had been cancelled but did not say whether he would lead his usual weekly prayer with pilgrims on Sunday. Francis has not been seen in public since being admitted to the hospital.
On Wednesday, the Vatican said for the first time that he was receiving respiratory physiotherapy, normally aimed at improving lung function, clearing secretions and making breathing more efficient.
Francis 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.
Double pneumonia is a serious infection of both lungs that can inflame and scar them, making it difficult to breathe. The Vatican said Francis suffered a "prolonged asthma-like respiratory crisis" on Saturday, but there have been no repeats.
Hundreds of people have assembled in St Peter's Square over the past three evenings for prayer vigils, while well-wishers have also gathered outside the hospital.
"At this moment, I think I feel confident. I am happy with the news that I'm getting from Vatican News, that he is getting better," said one of those, Sister Theodosia Baki from Cameroon.
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(Reporting by Crispian Balmer and Joshua McElwee; Additional reporting by Claudia Checca; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Crispian Balmer)
