Clutching a bouquet of yellow roses, 79-year-old Carmela Vittoria Mancuso makes her way to Rome's Gemelli hospital each morning and later heads to St. Peter's Square at the Vatican in the evening to pray for the ailing Pope Francis.

Pope Francis "remained stationary" on Wednesday, "without showing any episodes of respiratory failure," but rested peacefully overnight into Thursday, the Vatican said.

Pope Francis' condition remains "stable" in hospital with no further bouts of breathlessness, the Vatican said late on Wednesday. He was supplied with oxygen via a tube through his nose during the day,