Pope Francis's condition is 'stable' - Vatican

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis, who has been in hospital for two weeks with double pneumonia, is in a "stable" condition, the Vatican said on Saturday while again declining to offer a prognosis.

The 88-year-old had suffered a breathing "crisis" on Friday, but Saturday's evening bulletin said this was not repeated, adding: "The clinical conditions of the Holy Father have remained stable."

The pope was hospitalised on February 14 for breathing difficulties but his condition deteriorated into pneumonia in both lungs, sparking widespread alarm.

He suffered a breathing attack at the weekend, but since then appeared to have been getting slightly better, with the Vatican releasing more optimistic medical updates.

A Vatican source went so far Friday as to say Francis's condition was not currently critical following incremental improvements in his condition.

But the Vatican has not yet modified the pope's prognosis of "reserved", -- which means doctors will not predict changes in his health.

Medical experts have warned that Francis's age and the chronic respiratory disease from which he suffers mean a sustained recovery could take time. 

And Friday's bulletin from the Vatican stressed once again that his "prognosis remains reserved".

This hospital stay is Francis's longest since he was elected pope in 2013.