Pope Francis, who has been in hospital since February 14 with pneumonia in both lungs, is stable and talk has turned to when he might go home.

But the Argentine has still not been seen in public since his admission, and in an audio message released on March 6, the 88-year-old sounded weak and breathless.

Here is what we know about the health of Francis, who will mark on Thursday 12 years as head of the Catholic Church and its nearly 1.4 billion followers.

Francis suffered several respiratory attacks during his stay at Rome's Gemelli hospital, which raised concerns for his life.

On February 22 the Vatican said he suffered a "prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis", and he also required blood transfusions for thrombocytopenia, a condition that can prevent clotting and lead to continued bleeding.

On February 28 the pope suffered "an isolated crisis of bronchospasm" -- a tightening of the muscles that line the airways in the lungs -- which caused "an episode of vomiting with inhalation", the Holy See said.

On March 3 Francis suffered "two episodes of acute respiratory failure"........

© International Business Times