Daily evening prayers for Pope Francis to be held in St. Peter’s Square, Vatican says
Daily evening prayers for the health of Pope Francis will be held at St. Peter’s Square, the Vatican announced Monday.
The Vatican No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, is set to lead the first prayer this evening.
It comes as Pope Francis, 88, spent his 10th day at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital for a complex lung infection that has led to the early stages of kidney insufficiency, according to the Vatican.
“The night passed well, the pope slept and is resting,” the Vatican said earlier Monday.
POPE FRANCIS RESTING ON DAY 10 IN HOSPITAL
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St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Oct. 20, 2024. (AP/Andrew Medichini)
Francis was admitted to the hospital on Feb. 14 after a week-long bout of bronchitis worsened. Doctors first diagnosed the complex viral, bacterial and fungal respiratory tract infection and subsequently the onset of pneumonia in both lungs.
Late Sunday, doctors said blood tests revealed “early, slight kidney insufficiency” but that it remained under control. The doctors said Francis remained in critical condition but had not experienced any further respiratory crises since Saturday evening.
POPE FRANCIS SHARES WRITTEN MESSAGE WHILE CONTINUING HOSPITALIZATION
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Raindrops are seen on candles adorned with a picture of Pope Francis outside the hospital in Rome, Italy, where he is being treated, on Monday, Feb. 24. (AP/Gregorio Borgia)
At the Gemelli hospital, Bishop Claudio GiulioDori presided over an emotional, standing-room-only Mass in the St. John Paul II Chapel – named for the former pope – according to the Associated Press.
Some of the estimated 200 people who attended were in white doctor coats or green surgical scrubs, the AP reported.
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Faithful participating in the Jubilee arrive on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, in St. Peter’s Square, where they were supposed to say the Angelus prayer with Pope Francis, who was admitted to Gemelli Hospital over a week ago. (AP/Alessandra Tarantino)
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“We are very sorry. Pope Francis is a good pope, let’s hope that he makes it. Let us hope,” Filomena Ferraro, who was visiting a relative at Gemelli on Monday, told the AP. “We are joining him with our prayers, but what else can we do?”
Fox News’ Landon Mion and the Associated Press contributed to this report.