A little over a week after returning to the Vatican guesthouse to convalesce, the pope was showing gradual improvements in his movements and speech.

The Vatican Press Office said Wednesday that an X-ray Pope Francis had in the last few days showed "slight improvements in the pulmonary infectious picture". The 88-year-old Argentine pontiff has started what is expected to be two months of convalescence as he recovers from bilateral pneumonia,

After five weeks of hospitalization with pneumonia, including moments where he came close to death, Pope Francis is back at home in the Vatican recovering.