Joaquin Navarro-Valls, the Vatican’s Press Office Spokesman told reporters today that, “the Pope is well, and his condition is improving, as I told you yesterday.”

Although an official medical bulletin on Pope John Paul's condition will not be released until Thursday, Navarro-Valls spoke briefly as he entered Gemelli Hospital this morning just before 9 a.m.

Following his daily visit with the Holy Father, about an hour later, Navarro-Valls informed gathered journalists that, "everything is normal."

He called the Pope's fifth night in the hospital "tranquil," and said that he "is a good patient and is continuing his voice exercises."

Navarro-Valls also said that, as he was leaving Pope John Paul's 10th floor hospital suite, "the Pope was preparing to celebrate Mass."

The Vatican noted that a brief visit by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was on the Pope’s agenda for today.