Eleven days after the pope was hospitalized, speculation is mounting and prayers for his recovery verge on a vigil.
Eleven days after the pope was hospitalized, speculation is mounting and prayers for his recovery verge on a vigil.
Jason HorowitzElisabetta Povoledo and Emma Bubola
Reporting from the Vatican
Vatican City is an anxious place. Clergy keep their phones by their pillows. Reporters, crammed in the Holy See press office, open emails with trepidation. Faithful have begun to gather expectantly in St. Peter’s Square.
All await terse bulletins from the Vatican on the condition of Pope Francis, who remains critical after being taken to a hospital 11 days ago with bronchitis that developed into pneumonia in both lungs. On Monday afternoon, hours before the Vatican reported a “slight improvement,” the phones of Vatican officials buzzed with texts falsely reporting Francis’ death.
Francis, who now has the beginnings of kidney failure and infections, may yet recover. On Tuesday night, the Vatican said Francis was in “critical but stable” condition. In its nightly medical bulletin, the Vatican said he underwent a follow-up CT scan in the afternoon to check the lung infection, and that he had resumed his “work activities” in the morning.
transcript
“I think it’s a public manifestation of the love that we have for the Holy Father, the respect that we have for what he does for us and that the whole body of the church, wherever they are.” “Espirito Santo.” “Amen.” “We are pilgrims to Rome, and we heard that he’s in the hospital right now, and we are very worried about his health. So I come here to today to pray for him because he is the leader of the Catholic Church all over the world. He is our father and our responsibility to pray for him.”
For veterans of papal transitions, the daily health bulletins, the influx of global media, the rampant speculation and the special prayer services have a familiar and ominous feel.
“These are delicate moments,” said Duban Corredor, a 27-year-old seminarian from Colombia, who came to St. Peter’s Square on Monday night to pray the rosary for Francis, who he noted had always concluded his conversations and remarks with an appeal to “pray for me.”
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and your Times account, or for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Want all of The Times? .
Source: www.nytimes.com