Pope Francis, who has been hospitalized for 12 days, "continues to show signs of improvement, with his kidney issues subsiding," the Vatican said Wednesday.

The combination of health issues has kept the Pope from performing his public duties, including weekly prayers on Sundays, but his doctors have recently said he is alert, joking, and continuing to work, as well as reading messages from well-wishers around the world.

Time-honored rituals, drafted and refined over centuries, allow time for mourning and provide order at a dramatic moment of transition.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, battling double pneumonia, had a quiet night in hospital and is resting, the Vatican said on Wednesday. The 88-year-old pope is spending his 13th day at Rome's Gemelli hospital, the longest hospital stay of his nearly 12-year-old papacy.

Blood tests have confirmed an improvement, according to the Vatican's update. The slight kidney insufficiency detected a few days ago has receded, and Francis is continuing to receive respiratory physiotherapy.

Pope Francis has shown a "further, slight improvement" in his medical condition, the Vatican said on Wednesday, in a sign of progress as the 88-year-old pontiff battles double pneumonia. The pope is spending his 13th night at Rome's Gemelli hospital,

Francis is continuing his therapy for bronchitis and pneumonia, but the Vatican provided no indication of when he might be released from the hospital.