Pope Francis acknowledged being fragile and “facing a period of trial”, as he thanked well-wishers on Sunday for their prayers in a message from hospital, where he has been slowly recovering from pneumonia.

The 88-year-old pope, who has weathered setbacks along with periods of improving health since being hospitalised on February 14, sent a particularly personal message to the faithful that referenced both his faith and his frailty.

“I am sharing these thoughts with you while I am facing a period of trial, and I join with so many brothers and sisters who are sick: fragile, at this time, like me,” wrote the pope in the message published by the Vatican.

“Our bodies are weak but, even like this, nothing can prevent us from loving, praying, giving ourselves, being for each other, in faith, shining signs of hope,” added the Argentine pontiff in the message marking the second Sunday of Lent, a 40-day period of prayer and reflection leading up to Easter.

Sunday was the fifth time in a row that the pope’s illness had prevented him from personally giving the Angelus prayer, usually delivered to a crowd gathered in St Peter’s Square following mass.

Although Francis has yet to appear at the window of his papal suite on the 10th floor of the Gemelli hospital, this has not dissuaded a steady stream of well-wishers from gathering, including tango dancers and dozens of children on Sunday.

Under grey skies, about a dozen couples in street clothes danced the tango in front of a throng of cameras as the Argentine pontiff recuperated inside.

“With this tango, he must be discharged,” enthused dancer Daiana Guspero, 38, who, like the pope, hailed from Buenos Aires. “I want him to feel our energy, our love for tango and for an Argentine pope,” she told AFP.

Earlier, a group of young scouts from a Catholic group stood at the foot of a statue of former Pope John Paul II at the hospital entrance, holding yellow and white balloons and vainly striving to catch a glimpse of the pope.

“You see the pope there!” shouted one of them eagerly, before being set straight by the group leader, Valerio Santobonio, 23: “I don’t think that’s him.”

Santobonio told AFP that five to seven-year-olds don’t quite yet grasp who the pope is, nor his health situation. Nevertheless, their visit was “a bit like giving them a window onto a wider stage of Christian life”, Santobonio said.

Other children had arrived in the early morning from an impoverished town near Naples to deliver a letter to Francis, said Andrea Lacomini from Unicef, which organised the excursion.

“He loves children, he is the pope of the children, so we are waiting for him. We’re sure he will get better,” Lacomini told AFP. “We need an important leader like him, because at this time there aren’t many heroes in the world,” he added. “He’s the only one who talks about peace.”

Despite failing to appear at the window, Francis addressed his youngest well-wishers in his message.

“I know that many children are praying for me; some of them came here today to ‘Gemelli’ as a sign of closeness,” Francis wrote. “Thank you, dearest children! The pope loves you and is always waiting to meet you.”

‘Loving care’

Last week, the Vatican signalled that Francis was out of immediate danger after a series of breathing crises earlier in his hospitalisation had sparked fears for the pontiff’s life.

On Saturday, the Vatican said his condition continued to be stable and showing progress, but cautioned that he still needed therapies administered within the hospital setting.

“The Holy Father still requires hospital medical therapy, motor and respiratory physiotherapy; these therapies, at present, are showing further, gradual improvements,” it said.

That message appeared to quash speculation that the pope’s progress could signal an imminent release from hospital.

Although the Vatican has said he continues to work from his hospital suite when able, Francis’s absence is particularly felt as Easter approaches, the holiest period in the Christian calendar just five weeks away.

The head of the world’s nearly 1.4 billion Catholics traditionally presides over a busy programme of events during the period, including a Good Friday evening procession and Easter mass in St Peter’s Square before tens of thousands of faithful.

In his written message on Sunday — which also called for peace in war-torn countries including Ukraine, Myanmar and Sudan — Francis once again thanked his caretakers and those who have been praying for him.

“How much light shines, in this sense, in hospitals and places of care! How much loving care illuminates the rooms, the corridors, the clinics, the places where the humblest services are performed!” he wrote.