Pope Francis baptizes a baby at Gemelli Hospital in Rome on March 31, 2023. / Credit: Screen shot of Vatican Media video
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 31, 2023 / 09:32 am (CNA).
While staying at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital where he is undergoing t… […]
Pope Francis’ General Audience in St. Peter’s Square on March 29, 2023. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Rome Newsroom, Mar 31, 2023 / 05:25 am (CNA).
The Vatican said Friday that Pope Francis may be discharged from the hospital on Saturday, after responding well to treatments yesterday and sharing a pizza dinner with those assisting him.
In two brief statements in the early afternoon March 31, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni also said Pope Francis is scheduled to be present at the Vatican’s Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square on April 2.
Pope Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Wednesday afternoon with difficulty breathing. He was later diagnosed with bronchitis.
“Yesterday passed well, with a normal clinical progression,” Bruni said around 12:30 p.m. on Friday.
“In the evening Pope Francis had dinner, eating pizza together with those assisting him during his hospital stay,” the Holy See Press Office director said. “With the Holy Father were the doctors, nurses, assistants and Gendarmerie personnel.”
On the morning of March 31, the pope had breakfast, read the newspapers, and resumed work, he said, adding that “His Holiness is expected to return to his Santa Marta home tomorrow, upon the outcome of the results of the last tests this morning.”
Around 1:15 p.m., Bruni added the information about the pope’s presence for the Palm Sunday Mass.
In the afternoon on March 29, Bruni issued a brief statement to say Francis was at Gemelli Hospital “for some previously scheduled checkups.” Later that day, he said the 86-year-old pope would remain hospitalized for “some days” after being diagnosed with a respiratory infection.
Gemelli is the same hospital where Pope Francis was hospitalized in July 2021 when he underwent surgery on his colon for diverticulitis, or inflammation of the intestinal wall.
In an interview with the Associated Press in January, Pope Francis disclosed that the diverticulitis had “returned.” At the time, the pope — who traveled to South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo in late January — insisted he was in relatively good condition.
Bishop Mariano Crociata meets with Pope Francis on March 23, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media
Rome Newsroom, Mar 30, 2023 / 11:30 am (CNA).
Last week the European bishops elected the new president of their commission, Italian Bishop Mariano Crocia… […]
Pope Francis prays in St. Peter’s Square on March 8, 2023. / Vatican Media
Rome Newsroom, Mar 30, 2023 / 10:00 am (CNA).
In the month of April, Pope Francis has asked the world to pray in a special way for a culture of nonviolence and peace.
“Living, speaking, and acting without violence is not surrendering, losing, or giving up anything but aspiring to everything,” the pope said in a video message released March 30.
He urged both countries and citizens to “resort less and less to the use of arms.”
In the video, images of Pope Francis delivering his message are interspersed with scenes of war zones, bombed-out cities, people fleeing war, police at crime scenes, and peace protesters.
In some of the video clips, the faces of iconic people associated with peace — Pope John XXIII, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., and Mahatma Gandhi — are superimposed on the scenes.
“As St. John XXIII said 60 years ago in his encyclical Pacem in Terris, war is madness,” the pope said. “It’s beyond reason.”
“Any war, any armed confrontation, always ends in defeat for all,” he said.
Pacem in Terris, subtitled “On establishing universal peace in truth, justice, charity, and liberty,” was published 60 years ago on April 11.
Pope Francis urged the world to “develop a culture of peace” and to “remember that, even in cases of self-defense, peace is the ultimate goal, and that a lasting peace can exist only without weapons.”
The pope’s monthly prayer intention is promoted and published by The Pope Video initiative, run by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network.
“Let us make nonviolence a guide for our actions, both in daily life and in international relations,” Pope Francis said.
More information about the pope’s prayer intention for April can be found here.
Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square on March 8, 2023. / Daniel Ibáñez/CNA
Rome, Italy, Mar 30, 2023 / 04:47 am (CNA).
Pope Francis will continue to receive treatment after being hospitalized for a respiratory infection on Wednesday, a Vatican sp… […]
Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square on March 8, 2023. / Daniel Ibáñez/CNA
Rome, Italy, Mar 30, 2023 / 04:47 am (CNA).
Pope Francis will continue to receive treatment after being hospitalized for a respiratory infection on Wednesday, a Vatican sp… […]
Pope Francis started his Canada trip by visiting the cemetery and chapel of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows in Maskwacis, Alberta, on July 25, 2022. / Vatican Media
Rome Newsroom, Mar 30, 2023 / 04:03 am (CNA).
Two Vatican departments issued a joint … […]
Pope Francis speaks at his general audience in St. Peter’s Square on March 29, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media
Rome Newsroom, Mar 29, 2023 / 13:24 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis will be hospitalized for “some days” after being diagnosed with a respiratory infection, the Vatican said Wednesday.
“In recent days Pope Francis has complained of some difficulty breathing and this afternoon went to [Gemelli Hospital] to carry out some medical tests. The results of these tests showed a respiratory infection (a COVID-19 infection was excluded) that will require some days of opportune medical treatment in the hospital,” Holy See Press Office Director Matteo Bruni said Wednesday evening.
“Pope Francis is touched by the many messages he received and expresses his gratitude for the closeness and prayer,” Bruni added.
Bruni had issued a brief statement earlier in the afternoon of March 29 to say the pope was at Gemelli Hospital “for some previously scheduled checkups.”
Gemelli is the same hospital where Pope Francis was hospitalized in July 2021 when he underwent surgery on his colon for diverticulitis, or inflammation of the intestinal wall.
In an interview with the Associated Press in January, Pope Francis disclosed that the diverticulitis had “returned.” At the time, the 86-year-old pontiff — who traveled to South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo in late January — insisted he was in relatively good condition.
The pope has also suffered since last year from a problem with his right knee, making it necessary for him to rely on a cane and a wheelchair to move around. But Francis told the AP that a fracture had healed without surgery after laser and magnet therapy.
As of Wednesday evening, the pope’s agenda for Thursday and Friday lists two meetings, one with teachers and students from the schools of the Oblate Sisters of the Child Jesus on Thursday, and the fifth Lenten sermon with the Roman Curia on Friday.
This is a developing story.
Father Hans Zollner. / Rebecski CC 4.0
Rome Newsroom, Mar 29, 2023 / 09:30 am (CNA).
Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, an internationally-renowned expert in protecting children and vulnerable adults from clerical sex abuse, has resigned from his posi… […]
Pope Francis, seated in a wheelchair, greets a child during the pope’s general audience at the Vatican on Jan. 25, 2023. / Vatican Media
Rome Newsroom, Mar 29, 2023 / 08:57 am (CNA).
Pope Francis has been undergoing some medical checkups at one of Rome’s most prominent hospitals since Wednesday afternoon, according to a Vatican spokesman.
Holy See Press Office Director Matteo Bruni issued a brief statement the afternoon of March 29 to say the pope was at Gemelli Hospital “for some previously scheduled checkups.”
Gemelli is the same hospital where Pope Francis was hospitalized in July 2021 when he underwent surgery on his colon for diverticulitis, or inflammation of the intestinal wall.
In an interview with the Associated Press in January, Pope Francis disclosed that the diverticulosis had “returned.”
At the same time, however, the 86-year-old pontiff — who traveled to South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo in late January and early February — insisted he was in relatively good condition.
“I’m in good health. For my age, I’m normal,” he told the AP on Jan. 24.
The pope has also suffered since last year from a problem with his right knee, making it necessary for him to rely on a cane and a wheelchair to move around. But Francis told the AP that a fracture had healed without surgery after laser and magnet therapy.
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