Vatican City, Holy See (AFP)—Pope Francis was in stable condition Wednesday with no new respiratory attacks, the Vatican said as the 88-year-old spent his 20th day in hospital with pneumonia.

“He spent the day in an armchair,” did some work and called the parish priest of Gaza, the Holy See said in its regular early evening update.

However it added that “given the complexity of the clinical picture, the prognosis remains reserved”, meaning doctors will not say how they expect his condition to evolve.

On Monday, Francis had experienced “two episodes of acute respiratory failure”, the third breathing crisis since he was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14.

The Vatican had on Tuesday evening said he was “stable” and on Wednesday evening said his condition remained unchanged, “without showing episodes of respiratory failure”.

After using an oxygen mask the two previous nights, he switched to a nasal cannula during the day Wednesday and will resume the mask on Wednesday night, it said.

“The Holy Father increased respiratory physiotherapy and active motor therapy,” the update said, adding that he had also done some work.

Although he missed the formal celebrations marking Ash Wednesday, the start of the Lent religious season, the pope participated in a blessing in his private papal suite on the 10th floor of the hospital, the Vatican said.