Pope Francis slept well overnight and his condition continues to improve as he undergoes treatment for a complex respiratory infection at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, the Vatican announced Thursday morning.
The 88-year-old pontiff continues oxygen therapy “with high flow rates” and has begun physiotherapy treatment for his respiratory passages.
While the pope’s condition shows signs of improvement, Vatican officials emphasized that “the prognosis remains cautious” as his hospitalization extends into its 13th day.
Pope’s consolation to grieving mother
The Vatican, meanwhile, has revealed a moving letter the Holy Father wrote shortly before his hospitalization.
In the letter, set to appear in the monthly magazine Piazza San Pietro, Pope Francis responded to a grieving Roman mother who lost her 21-year-old son.
“Jesus, who weeps with us, will sow in our hearts all the answers we seek,” the pope wrote to Cinzia, whose son Fabrizio went out one evening in October 2019 and never returned home.
Meanwhile, the prayer vigils for the pontiff’s recovery continue.
According to a Thursday announcement from the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, the holy rosary will be prayed again this evening at 9 p.m. in St. Peter’s Square, with Cardinal Baldassare Reina, the vicar general for the Diocese of Rome, presiding over the prayer service.
The Vatican also confirmed that “due to the pope’s continued hospitalization, the jubilee audience scheduled for Saturday, March 1, has been canceled.”
This article was originally published on Catholic News Agency.
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AC Wimmer is founding Editor-in-Chief of CNA Deutsch. A former senior executive with public broadcaster SBS and graduate of the University of Melbourne and Monash University (Australia), he has worked as a journalist across the globe. Before joining EWTN News, the Australian with Bavarian roots was Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Munich.
