Pope John Paul II is recovering well from his throat operation and is getting breathing and voice therapy, the Vatican says.
He is eating well and there are no post-operative complications, the latest medical bulletin said.
The next update on his health will be on Thursday, said chief Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls.
The Pope is in Rome's Gemelli Hospital, where he underwent an emergency tracheotomy operation on Thursday.
The 84-year-old pontiff is now spending some time sitting in an armchair, the statement said.
"His general condition and biological parameters continue to be good," the statement said.
Message to faithful
On Sunday, he made a surprise appearance at his hospital window to wave to people expecting his blessing.
Sitting in a wheelchair, he made the sign of the cross to bless the faithful, but he did not speak.
He spent 10 days at the hospital earlier this month with similar flu-related symptoms.
There was no word on Monday when the Pope may be released from the hospital.
His message on Sunday, delivered by an aide in St Peter's Square, asked believers "to accompany me... with your prayers".
His first appearance since the operation lasted about one minute but it will have done much to reassure Catholics around the world that the Pope is fighting back against his illness, says the BBC's David Willey in Rome.
For the first time in his 26-year pontificate, the Pope delegated an aide to perform the Angelus blessing.
The doctors have told him he must not even attempt to speak.
Some church officials and doctors have privately expressed doubts about the Pope's capacity to continue to exercise the office he has held for more than two decades.
Overcoming pain
The Pope looked frail as he appeared at his 10th-floor suite at the Gemelli Hospital.
He waved to well-wishers and pointed to his throat where doctors inserted a tube during Thursday's operation.
The Pope's brief message to pilgrims gathered at the Vatican was read by Archbishop Leonardo Sandri.
In it he said "the current climate of penitence of Lent also helps us to better understand the suffering which one way or other concerns us all...
"Only looking to Christ and following him with patient trust shall we understand how all human form of pain includes a divine promise of salvation and happiness."
At times in the past three years, the Pope has had difficulty completing speeches and tires very quickly during public appearances.