Pope Francis’ condition “continues to be stable” and “the recovery process is slow and requires time for the consolidation of the improvements [that have been] recorded in recent days,” the Vatican said at 7 p.m. on March 14.
Contrary to expectations, it said the pope’s doctors had decided not to issue a medical update this Friday evening “because there is nothing new to report” regarding his clinical condition. It presented this as “a positive sign.” The Vatican said that there should be a medical update from the pope’s doctors on Saturday evening, March 15.
The Vatican also announced that for the same reasons, it would no longer issue a brief statement in the mornings about how the pope passed the previous night. Up to now, it has sent a brief note to the accredited media every morning since Francis was admitted to the hospital on Feb. 14. Furthermore, the director of the Holy See Press office, Matteo Bruni, would no longer give a media briefing in the mornings as has been the case up to now; the only briefing will be in evening, but this may not always be accompanied by a medical update from the pope’s doctors.
This news hardly comes as a surprise. It reflects the fact that, as his doctors have reported, Pope Francis “is no longer in imminent danger” and is recovering slowly but surely from the double pneumonia for which he has been treated over the past month. His recovery is a slow process, however, because of what the doctors call “the complexity” of his situation. That complexity is due to “the various pathologies” the pope has, his advanced age and the fact that it takes time for the medical treatment to take full effect, as Dr. Anna Lisa Bilotta has explained to America in my reports over the past two weeks. In addition to all this, there is the fact that Pope Francis has now been in the hospital for one whole month, and informed sources say he is keen to return to the Vatican, but he remains obedient to his doctors, who are moving ahead cautiously.
There have been rumors over the past week, including one that America heard today, that work is being done at Santa Marta, the Vatican guesthouse where the pope has a small apartment on the second floor, in preparation for his return home. When asked, the Vatican press office said it was not informed of this.
This Friday morning, March 14, the Vatican press office reported that Pope Francis had spent a “quiet” 28th night in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, and his condition continued to be “stable.”
Sources later confirmed that he continued wearing a mask over his nose and mouth during the night to receive oxygen via non-invasive mechanical ventilation.
This morning, it said, Pope Francis followed by video-link the concluding meditation on the theme “The Hope of Eternal Life,” given by Roberto Pasolini, O.F.M.Cap., the preacher of the papal household, at the annual Spiritual Exercises for the personnel of the Roman Curia in the Paul VI Audience Hall.
During the day, his 29th day in the Gemelli hospital, the 88-year-old Argentine pope continued the medical treatments prescribed by his doctors, as well as respiratory therapy and motor physiotherapy.
Also this morning, March 14, at the request of the ambassadors accredited to the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the secretary of state, celebrated Mass and prayed for the recovery of Pope Francis in the Pauline Chapel of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, accompanied by the other senior officials of the Secretariat of State.
The chapel, named after Pope Paul III, who had it built (1537-1540), is a place well known to Pope Francis because at the March 2013 conclave, he came here with 114 other cardinals to pray before going to the Sistine Chapel to elect the successor to Pope Benedict XVI.
Moreover, after his election on March 13, Francis walked out of the Sistine Chapel looking down at the ground, and accompanied by two cardinals, came here to the Pauline Chapel to pray in silence before making his first appearance as pope on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. He knelt and prayed intensely for some minutes. When he finished, stood up and turned around, he seemed a different person, Msgr. Dario Vigano, the director of the Vatican’s television channel, CTV, recalled: “He was another man, smiling, as if he had entrusted his burden to God.”
Cardinal Parolin, in his homily to the ambassadors, said, “We gather in prayer this morning for the intention of the Holy Father’s health, that he may recover and return soon among us.” He recalled that yesterday was the 12th anniversary of Francis’ election as pope.
The Italian cardinal, whom Francis chose as his secretary of state in August 2013, then reflected on the essence and purpose of prayer, saying, “It is more about opening our hearts to God than about informing him of our desires, which he already knows.”
Turning to the day’s Gospel, which is about the righteousness required to enter the kingdom of Heaven, Cardinal Parolin noted that Jesus emphasizes the importance of loving our neighbors, even if we disagree. He told them, “Wars do not start [on the battlefield]; they start here, in the human heart, born from feelings of hatred and hostility that we harbor toward others.” He added, “Peace requires us to disarm our language and seek God’s will in our relationships with others.” He reminded the diplomats of Jesus’ invitation to seek reconciliation before we engage in acts of worship.
Yesterday, March 13, messages came to the Vatican for the pope from all over the world, including from children, heads of state and government ministers. Among them was a message from Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, who said, “On behalf of the people of the United States of America, and during this Jubilee Holy Year, I extend my best wishes to His Holiness Pope Francis on the twelfth anniversary of his election.” Mr. Rubio, who is Catholic, said, “The United States values its enduring relationship with the Holy See, which is grounded in our shared commitment to advance peace across the globe, promote interreligious dialogue, and protect religious freedom.”
Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, sent a long written message in which he recognized Pope Francis’ “personal efforts” for “the promotion of peace and harmony among peoples.” Moreover, he said, “It is particularly useful in this complicated international scenario that Russia and the Holy See continue to dialogue,” alluding to the fact this dialogue had contributed to the exchange of prisoners during the three-year war in Ukraine that Russia, under his leadership, started on Feb. 22, 2022. Mr. Putin has not spoken to either the pope or any senior Vatican official since the war started.
Ukraine’s president, Volodomyr Zelenskyy, on the other hand, has met the pope more than once and spoken to him and to senior Vatican officials in these three years. Today (March 14), he spoke by phone with Cardinal Parolin, and later posted on X: “I wished Pope Francis a speedy recovery and thanked him for his prayers and moral support for our people, as well as for his efforts in facilitating the return of Ukrainian children illegally deported and displaced by Russia.”
He revealed that “the Holy See has received a list of Ukrainians being held in Russian prisons and camps. We are counting on the [Holy See’s] support for their release.” He said: “The exchange of prisoners and an unconditional 30-day full interim ceasefire are the first quick steps that could significantly bring us closer to a just and lasting peace. Ukraine is ready to take these steps because the Ukrainian people want peace more than anyone.” But, he remarked, “the world sees how Russia is deliberately setting conditions that only complicate and drag out the process, as Russia is the only party that wants the war to continue and diplomacy to break down.”
President Zelenskyy concluded: “The voice of the Holy See is very important on the path to peace. I am grateful for the readiness to make efforts towards our shared goal. [I] thank you for your prayers for Ukraine and for peace.”
