A statue of St. Pope John Paul II in front of the main entrance to the Gemelli University Hospital. (Image: WIkipedia)
Vatican City, Feb 28, 2025 / 14:58 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis began noninvasive ventilation on Friday after experiencing a respiratory crisis that led to a “sudden worsening” of his condition, the Vatican said.
According to a Feb. 28 medical bulletin from the Holy See, after a morning spent in prayer, receiving the Eucharist, and doing respiratory physiotherapy, Pope Francis experienced in the early afternoon “an isolated crisis of bronchospasm” — a tightening of the muscles that line the airways in the lungs, causing wheezing and coughing.
The incident led to “an episode of vomiting with inhalation” aggravating his breathing, the Holy See said.
After his airways were suctioned, the pope was put on a noninvasive mechanical ventilator “with a good response on gas exchange,” the communication said, adding that Pope Francis remained “alert and oriented” and cooperative throughout the procedures.
In the two weeks since Pope Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14, doctors have continuously refrained from giving a prognosis, emphasizing that the situation is “complex.”
The Holy See Press Office had said on Thursday that the pope’s health was “improving” under oxygen and respiratory physiotherapy treatment. He continues to do work from the hospital.
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Pope Francis arrives for a consistory at St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, Dec. 7, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA
CNA Newsroom, Dec 7, 2024 / 15:39 pm (CNA).
As the iconic Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris reopened its doors five years after a devastating fire, Pope Francis on Saturday called the church’s restoration a “prophetic sign” of the Church’s renewal in France.
In a message read by Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the apostolic nuncio to France, during Saturday’s reopening ceremony, Pope Francis expressed his joy at joining “in spirit and prayer” with the faithful gathered for the historic occasion.
The pope recalled the “terrible fire” that severely damaged the cathedral in April 2019, saying: “Our hearts were heavy at the risk of seeing a masterpiece of Christian faith and architecture disappear, a millennial witness to your national history.”
“Today, sadness and mourning give way to joy, celebration, and praise,” the Holy Father wrote in his message, addressed to Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris.
The pope particularly praised the firefighters “who worked so courageously to save this historic monument from collapse” and acknowledged the “determined commitment of public authorities” along with the “great wave of international generosity” that made the restoration possible.
This outpouring of support, Francis noted, demonstrates not only an attachment to art and history but also “the symbolic and sacred value of such an edifice is still widely perceived, from the smallest to the greatest.”
Looking to the future, the pope emphasized the cathedral’s role as a beacon of faith: “Dear faithful of Paris and France, this house, which our Heavenly Father inhabits, is yours; you are its living stones.”
The pontiff expressed hope that Notre Dame would continue to welcome visitors from all backgrounds, noting it would soon “be visited and admired again by immense crowds of people of all conditions, origins, religions, languages and cultures, many of them in search of the absolute and meaning in their lives.”
The message concluded with Pope Francis imparting his apostolic blessing and invoking “the protection of Notre Dame de Paris over the Church in France and the entire French nation.”
The rose window of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral is seen a few weeks before its reopening to the public scheduled for Dec. 7, 2024 on Oct. 25, 2024 in Paris, France. Credit: Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images
The reopening marked the culmination of an intensive five-year restoration project following the April 2019 blaze that threatened to destroy the historic Gothic cathedral, which has stood as a symbol of French Catholicism for over 850 years.
Ahead of the event, Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris told CNA that the reopening of Notre Dame is “a renaissance, a rediscovery for the priests and faithful of Paris who have been waiting for this moment for five years.” On Saturday night, Ulrich commenced the reopening ceremony by striking the doors with his crozier three times.
The cathedral welcomed over 2,500 faithful and dignitaries on Saturday, including U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, Britain’s Prince William, Tesla founder Elon Musk, and Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin represented the Holy See.
The historic occasion drew international figures One public highlight of the evening shone in the Paris night as the cathedral projected a simple message – “Merci” – onto its restored facade.
Sharing the image on X, President Macron expressed his gratitude to ”our firefighters and all the forces that saved Notre-Dame, to all the craftsmen and companions who have made it even more beautiful, to the patrons and generous donors from around the world, to all those who helped keep the promise.”
À nos sapeurs-pompiers et à l’ensemble des forces qui ont sauvé Notre-Dame.
À tous les artisans et aux compagnons qui l’ont rendue plus belle encore.
Aux mécènes et aux généreux donateurs du monde entier.
The inaugural Mass at Notre Dame will be celebrated on Dec. 8 at 10:30 a.m. local time. The new high altar designed by Guillaume Badet will be consecrated.
The Mass will be full of symbols: Holy water will be sprinkled on the people, then on the altar and the pulpit as a sign of purification of these elements intended for sacred use.
Nearly 170 bishops from France and around the world will participate in the Mass, as will a priest from each of the 106 parishes of the Diocese of Paris and a priest from each of the seven Eastern-rite Catholic Churches.
Thi story was last updated on Dec. 7, 2024, with further details of the event.
Vatican City, Aug 31, 2020 / 05:30 am (CNA).- Four adult siblings, all nurses who worked with coronavirus patients during the worst of the pandemic, will on Friday meet Pope Francis, together with their families.
True Christians hate to see anyone suffer, whether a good man or an evil man. The decline of Francis/Bergoglio a valuable meditation on our own death, which often enough is neither quick nor clean.
I’m already tired of this.
We pray for Pope Francis’ physical health.
And, when his time comes, we pray, too, that his successor is a faithful follower of Jesus Christ.
I suspect that the Pope will soon be, if not already on life support.
True Christians hate to see anyone suffer, whether a good man or an evil man. The decline of Francis/Bergoglio a valuable meditation on our own death, which often enough is neither quick nor clean.
Exactly!