Pope Francis recorded and released an audio message on Thursday thanking those who have been praying for his recovery, his voice breathless as he nears three weeks in hospital with pneumonia.

?I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers for my health from the Square, I accompany you from here,? Francis said in a message broadcast in St Peter?s Square.

?May God bless you and the Virgin protect you. Thank you,? he said, taking laboured breaths as he spoke in his native Spanish, with some words fading away into nothing.

It was the first time the world has heard Francis?s voice since the 88-year-old was admitted to Rome?s Gemelli hospital on February 14.

Pilgrims have been gathering in St Peter?s Square every evening to pray for the pope?s recovery. The hundreds of people there on Thursday applauded when they heard his message.

The Vatican said earlier Thursday that the Argentine, head of the worldwide Catholic Church since 2013, is in a ?stable? condition.

There had been no repeat of Monday?s respiratory failure, it said, and the pope?s blood work ?remained stable?.

Francis continued with his breathing exercises and physiotherapy, did not have a fever, and managed to do a bit of work in both the morning and afternoon, it said.

The Vatican has been providing twice daily updates on the pope?s health, a morning one on how the night went, and an evening medical bulletin.

But on Thursday it said that ?in view of the stability of the clinical picture, the next medical bulletin will be released on Saturday?.

Nonetheless, ?the doctors are still maintaining a reserved prognosis?, it said, meaning they will not say how they expect his condition to evolve.

For the last three nights Francis ? who had part of a lung removed as a young man ? has worn an oxygen mask to help him sleep.

On Thursday morning, as on the previous day, he switched to a less onerous nasal cannula ? a plastic tube tucking into his nostrils ? which provides high-flow oxygen, a Vatican source said.

Francis missed the formal Ash Wednesday celebrations in Rome marking the start of Lent, but took part in a blessing in his private suite on the 10th floor of the Gemelli.

The leader of the world?s almost 1.4 billion Catholics has not been seen in public since his hospitalisation ? the longest of his papacy.

Nor has the Vatican issued any photos, although Francis has published several texts.

?Thoughts and prayers?

During previous hospitalisations, the pope appeared on the Gemelli balcony for his weekly Angelus prayer at noon on Sundays.

But he has missed the last three, and no announcement has yet been made about whether he will make an appearance this weekend.

The Vatican confirmed Thursday that senior cardinal Michael Czerny would stand in for the pope and lead the mass this weekend marking the first Sunday of Lent.

The mass was also part of celebrations for the Jubilee 2025, a Holy Year led by the pope, dedicated this weekend to volunteers.

The Holy See said Thursday the event ?takes on an even deeper meaning, as the thoughts and prayers of all the brothers and sisters turn to the Holy Father and the experience he is going through?.

Pilgrims will pray in front of the hospital on Saturday, it said, as well-wishers have done since Francis was admitted.

The pope was initially diagnosed with bronchitis but it developed into pneumonia in both lungs, sparking alarm across the globe.

On February 22, he suffered a ?prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis? and on February 28 had ?an isolated crisis of bronchospasm? ? a tightening of the muscles that line the airways in the lungs.

On Monday, Francis ?experienced two episodes of acute respiratory failure, caused by a significant accumulation of endobronchial mucus and consequent bronchospasm?, according to the Vatican.

Francis?s health has regularly led to speculation, particularly among his critics, as to whether he could resign like his predecessor, Benedict XVI. (Channels TV)

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