VATICAN City, Holy See (AFP)— Pope Francis’s condition was stable on Wednesday as he neared three weeks in hospital battling pneumonia, a Vatican source said, with celebrations for the Lenten religious season starting without him.

The 88-year-old head of the Roman Catholic Church has suffered a worrying series of respiratory attacks since his admission to the Gemelli in Rome on February 14, the most recent on Monday.

The pope “rested well overnight”, the Vatican said Wednesday, while a Holy See source said later that, as on Tuesday evening, his condition remained “stable”.

He wore an oxygen mask both Monday and Tuesday night because it helps him sleep better, the source said, while Wednesday he was receiving “high-flow” oxygen via a nasal cannula.

Francis had a calm day on Tuesday after Monday’s two episodes of acute respiratory failure, with the Vatican reporting he had no fever, was “alert” and cooperating with his treatment.

But the Argentine’s prognosis “remains reserved”, meaning doctors will not say how they expect his condition to evolve.

The leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Roman Catholics has not been seen since his hospitalisation, with audiences cancelled and Francis missing three successive Sunday Angelus prayers — a first in his papacy.

He also missed celebrations Wednesday for the start of Lent, the season preceding Easter — the holiest period in the Christian calendar — when Christians believe that Christ fasted in the desert.

The pope usually leads the main Ash Wednesday service.

Francis also missed Ash Wednesday celebrations in 2022, that time due to acute knee pain — one of a series of health woes that have afflicted the pontiff since his election in 2013.

His health has regularly led to speculation, particularly among his critics, as to whether he could resign like his predecessor.

Worried Catholics around the world have been praying for the pope’s recovery.