Despite his confinement to his hospital room, where he is being treated for double pneumonia, Pope Francis delivered two important messages on Sunday, March 9. The first, a homily read by Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J. to a gathering of volunteers; the second, his midday Angelus where he again renewed calls for peace around the world.
It was the fourth consecutive Sunday that Francis sent a written message for the midday Angelus as he was not able to appear at the hospital window to read a text and greet people.
He made a heartfelt appeal for an end to the violence in Syria that has resumed in that country that has already suffered from more than 13 years of civil war, but is now under new rulers. “I have learned with concern of the resumption of violence in some areas of Syria”, he said, “I hope that they cease definitively, with full respect for all ethnic and religious components of society, especially civilians.”
As he frequently does in his Angelus address, he invited people to pray for “the gift of peace” for “the martyred” Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Myanmar.
He had also been scheduled to preside at Mass in St. Peter’s Square today for the 30,000 volunteers from various organizations around the world, but he delegated Cardinal Czerny to preside at the Mass and read the homily which he had prepared for the occasion.
“Volunteering is prophecy and a sign of hope,” Pope Francis said in the homily, delivered in Italian. Francis spoke about how Jesus was tempted by the devil during his 40 days fast in the desert, and how he responded to the temptations and showed us “the way” to respond to the temptations that we too face in life.
“In the face of temptation,” the Jesuit pope said, “we sometimes fall; we are all sinners. Our defeat, however, is not definitive, because following our every fall, God lifts us up by his infinite love and forgiveness. Our testing does not end in failure, because, in Christ, we are redeemed from evil. As we journey through the desert with him, we follow a road previously untravelled: Jesus himself opens up before us this new path of liberation and redemption. By following the Lord in faith, from drifters we become pilgrims.”
He concluded the homily by sending greetings to “all the volunteers” from many countries who were in Rome for their Jubilee pilgrimage, and who represent millions of volunteers worldwide from various associations, non-profit organizations, nongovernmental organization workers, social workers and more.
“I thank you heartily, dear friends,” he told them, “because, following the example of Jesus, you serve your neighbours unstintingly. On the streets and in homes, in the company of the sick, the suffering and the imprisoned, with the young and the elderly, your generosity and commitment offer hope to our entire society. In the deserts of poverty and loneliness, all those small gestures are helping to make a new humanity blossom in the garden that is God’s dream, always and everywhere, for all of us.”
He spoke again about volunteers in his Angelus message. He said, “In our societies, too enslaved to market logic, where everything risks being subject to the criterion of interest and the quest for profit, volunteering is prophecy and a sign of hope.”
Then, referring to his own situation, he said, “Brothers and sisters, during my prolonged hospitalization here, I too experience the thoughtfulness of service and the tenderness of care, in particular from the doctors and healthcare workers, whom I thank from the bottom of my heart.”
“And while I am here,” he said, “I think of the many people who in various ways are close to the sick, and who are for them a sign of the Lord’s presence. We need this, the ‘miracle of tenderness’ which accompanies those who are in adversity, bringing a little light into the night of pain.”
Just as he had done in an audio message from his hospital bed on Thursday evening, Pope Francis again thanked all those across the world who are praying for his recovery. “I would like to thank all those who are showing their closeness to me in prayer: heartfelt thanks to you all! I pray for you too,” he said.
He concluded his message saying, “I entrust you all to the maternal intercession of the Virgin Mary. Happy Sunday, and arrivederci!” the Italian expression for “until we meet again.”
Earlier this Sunday morning, the Vatican reported that the 88-year-old pope had passed “a peaceful” 24th night in hospital and was resting. An informed Vatican source confirmed that he slept wearing a mask over his nose and mouth to receive mechanical ventilation, but he returned to using the nasal tubes to receive high-flow oxygen today—his 24th in hospital—and continued with his therapies, including respiratory therapy and motor physiotherapy.
The Vatican said he had received a visit this morning from Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the secretary of state, and Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, the substitute for the General Affairs of the church, also known as the chief of staff. It was their third time visiting him together. The Vatican said they informed him about situations in the church and the world.
Last evening, March 8, for the first time since his admission to hospital on Feb.14, the pope’s doctors reported that “he was responding positively to the therapies” and said there was “a gradual, slight improvement” in his condition. His breathing has improved, his situation is stable, and he has not had any setbacks since last Monday. Nevertheless, given “the complexity” of his situation due to double pneumonia and various pathologies as well as age, the doctors again issued a guarded prognosis, signaling that he is not yet out of danger. The next medical bulletin is expected on Monday evening, March 10.
Correction: An earlier version of this article was mistaken in how many days Francis has been in the hospital.
