AP PHOTOS: A month of Pope Francis's longest hospital stay with lenses focused everywhere he is not

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis on Friday marked one month in the hospital where he is being treated for double pneumonia, with signs in recent days that indicate he is gradually recovering.

The 88-year-old pope has not been seen by most faithful since a general audience on Feb. 12 in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall. Rollercoaster medical updates during the first three weeks of his treatment sparked an outpouring of concern from Catholics worldwide — and speculation about whether he had plans to resign.

In recent days the initial dread has given way to cautious relief as fears of imminent death have been lifted.

Associated Press photographers have been capturing the hope and the anguish that have accompanied Francis’s health journey as the faithful arrive in higher-than-usual numbers in Rome for Holy Year celebrations, which come once every quarter-century.

Pilgrims arriving in Rome for the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year have added a stop at the Gemelli Hospital where Francis is being treated to pray for his recovery. Cameras have been trained on a suite of mostly shaded 10th-floor windows where the pope is staying, but he has yet to make an appearance.

Church officials have emphasized that the pope continues his ministry from the hospital. Experts note that it has only been in recent church history –- chiefly since John Paul II’s 1978-2005 papacy -- that the faithful have grown accustomed to seeing popes on a regular basis.

“We’re … used to seeing a pope who’s everywhere all the time,’’ said Kurt Martens, a Washington, D.C.-based canon lawyer. “But don’t forget that in the past, not that long ago, popes would show up only rarely,’’ he said, delegating routine and even Holy Week celebrations to cardinals.

Francis has not been seen since Feb. 14 private audiences, his last official appearances before being admitted to the hospital following a weeks-long bout of bronchitis. He increasingly found it hard to speak publicly.

He marked the 12th anniversary of his papacy on March 13 in the hospital. The only sign of life has been a recording of his soft, labored voice broadcast to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on March 6 thanking them for their prayers.

Since Feb. 19 the Vatican had started each day by issuing a brief, reassuring statement noting with small variations that the pope has slept a tranquil night. Medical bulletins have been reduced from daily, to every other day.

The first three weeks were marked by slight improvements punctuated by alarming setbacks: a polymicrobial (bacterial, viral and fungal) infection on Day 4, double pneumonia on Day 5 and mild kidney failure on Day 10, along with respiratory crises on Day 9 and Day 18, and a severe coughing fit on Day 15.

But earlier this week, doctors lifted a guarded prognosis, indicating the pope was no longer at immediate risk of death from the infection. The latest medical bulletin said that the pope’s condition remained stable but indicated a complex picture considering his overall fragility, which includes his age, limited mobility often requiring a wheelchair and the removal of part of a lung as a young man.

While it is the longest hospitalization of Francis’s papacy, John Paul II holds the record: 55 days in the same specially outfitted papal apartment at the Gemelli, which includes a chapel.

A statue of late Pope John Paul II is lit outside the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, Thursday, March 13, 2025, where Pope Francis is being treated for bilateral pneumonia since Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

A view of St.Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Tourists and locals walk in St. Peter's Square on a rainy day at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Vatican Swiss guards surveil the Bronze Door, the main entrance to the papal apartments, at The Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, as Pope Francis was admitted on Feb. 14, at Rome's Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican is seen at dusk across the river Tiber in Rome, Italy Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

A figurine of Pope Francis is displayed in a shop window in Rome, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

A Catholic worshipper holds a rosary during a vigil prayer for Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Deacons take part in a mass for their jubilee in St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, that was supposed to be presided over by Pope Francis who was admitted over a week ago at Rome's Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic for pneumonia. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Catholic worshippers gather to pray the rosary for Pope Francis' health in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Nuns attend a rosary prayer for Pope Francis' health in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Catholic nuns listen to a recorded message from Pope Francis during a vigil rosary for his health in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Catholic worshippers pray the rosary for Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Friday, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A Catholic woman attends a nightly rosary prayer for the health of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

People pray for Pope Francis in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, in Rome, Thursday, March 13, 2025, where he is hospitalized since Friday, Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

A marble statue of late Pope John Paul II is backdropped by the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, where Pope Francis was hospitalized Friday, Feb. 14, after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened and is receiving drug therapy for a respiratory tract infection. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

A television shows news about Pope Francis in a room of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, in Rome, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, where the pontiff is hospitalized for pneumonia since Friday, Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Francis meets with Czech Republic's Prime Minister Robert Fico, right, and his entourage at The Vatican Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Vatican Media via AP, HO)

Pope Francis blesses the faithful during his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall, at The Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Francis arrives to hold his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope touches his eyes as he presides over a mass for the jubilee of the armed forces in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Sunday, Feb.9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Rain falls on the auspicious candles with images of Pope Francis left outside the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, where he is being treated for bilateral pneumonia in Rome, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Measles outbreaks in West Texas and New Mexico are now up to nearly 300 cases, and two unvaccinated people have died from measles-related causes.

Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that's airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is preventable through vaccines, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000.

As of Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said its count of confirmed measles cases in the U.S. surpassed 2024. Here's what else you need to know about measles in the U.S.

Texas state health officials said Friday there were 36 new cases of measles since Tuesday, bringing Texas' total to 259. Five more people were hospitalized, for a total of 34. The outbreak has spread to two new counties: Cochran in West Texas with six and Lamar in the northeast part of the state with four.

New Mexico health officials announced two new cases Friday, bringing the state’s total to 35. Most of the cases are in Lea County, where two people are hospitalized. Eddy County has two cases.

Oklahoma's state health department reported two probable cases of measles Tuesday, saying they are “associated” with the West Texas and New Mexico outbreaks.

A school-age child died of measles in Texas last month, and New Mexico reported its first measles-related death in an adult last week.

Measles cases have been reported in Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines an outbreak as three or more related cases — and there have been three clusters that qualified as outbreaks in 2025.

In the U.S., cases and outbreaks are generally traced to someone who caught the disease abroad. It can then spread, especially in communities with low vaccination rates. In 2019, the U.S. saw 1,274 cases and almost lost its status of having eliminated measles.

The best way to avoid measles is to get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old.

People at high risk for infection who got the shots many years ago may want to consider getting a booster if they live in an area with an outbreak, said Scott Weaver with the Global Virus Network, an international coalition. Those may include family members living with someone who has measles or those especially vulnerable to respiratory diseases because of underlying medical conditions.

Adults with “presumptive evidence of immunity” generally don’t need measles shots now, the CDC said. Criteria include written documentation of adequate vaccination earlier in life, lab confirmation of past infection or being born before 1957, when most people were likely to be infected naturally.

A doctor can order a lab test called an MMR titer to check your levels of measles antibodies, but health experts don't always recommend this route and insurance coverage can vary.

Getting another MMR shot is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says.

People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s don’t need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective measles vaccine made from “killed” virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said. That also includes people who don’t know which type they got.

Measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a rash.

The rash generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC.

Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to dangerous complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.

There’s no specific treatment for measles, so doctors generally try to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications and keep patients comfortable.

In communities with high vaccination rates — above 95% — diseases like measles have a harder time spreading through communities. This is called “herd immunity.”

But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots.

The U.S. saw a rise in measles cases in 2024, including an outbreak in Chicago that sickened more than 60.

AP Science Writer Laura Ungar contributed to this report.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

FILE - A vial of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is on display at the Lubbock Health Department Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP Photo/Mary Conlon, File)