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Pope Francis tells liturgists to avoid ‘pageantry or prominence’

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Vatican City, Feb 28, 2025 / 13:20 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis on Friday urged liturgists to accompany bishops and the faithful communities of their dioceses with humility and discretion.

In a Feb. 28 message sent from Gemelli Hospital to liturgy professors and students of the Anselmianum — a pontifical university in Rome associated with the Order of St. Benedict — the Holy Father said dioceses should “foster a liturgical style that expresses the following of Jesus, avoiding unnecessary pageantry or prominence” in celebrations.

The Anselmianum, also known as the the Pontifical Athenaeum of Sant’Anselmo, held a five-day course in Rome from Feb. 24-28 for men and women responsible for episcopal liturgical celebrations.

“I am pleased to note that you have once again accepted the invitation formulated in the apostolic letter Desiderio Desideravi,” the Holy Father said in his message written from Gemelli Hospital.  

“Worship is the work of the whole assembly,” the pontiff said. “The encounter between doctrine and pastoral care is not an optional technique but a constitutive aspect of the liturgy, which must always be incarnated, inculturated, expressing the faith of the Church.” 

In his message, the pope said a liturgist “is not just a teacher of theology” but has a distinct mission to accompany both the bishop and the community of his or her own diocese through liturgical action. 

“While humbly teaching the liturgical art, he must guide all those who celebrate, keeping the ritual rhythm and accompanying the faithful in the sacramental event,” he said. 

“Thus assisted, the pastor can gently lead the entire diocesan community in the offering of self to the Father, in imitation of Christ the Lord,” he continued.

The pope also invited Anselmianum students to follow the humble example of St. Benedict by discreetly carrying out their duties “without boasting” about results or successes.

“I encourage you to transmit these attitudes to the ministers, lectors, and cantors, according to the words of Psalm 115 quoted in the prologue of the Benedictine Rule: ‘Not to us, Lord, not to us give the glory, but to your name alone’ (cf. Nos. 29-30),” he said.

Pointing to the holy life of St. Teresa of Ávila, a doctor of the Church, the pope said liturgists must not neglect their life of prayer when carrying out their diocesan ministries.

“Care for the liturgy is first and foremost care for prayer,” he said. “May this great master of spiritual life be an example to you.”

At the conclusion of his message, the pope shared: “I hope that every one of you will always have at heart the people of God, whom you accompany in worship with wisdom and love. And do not forget to pray for me.”

Vatican advises against publishing names of accused without ‘legitimate’ reason

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Vatican City, Feb 28, 2025 / 12:50 pm (CNA).

The Vatican’s department for the interpretation of Church law has advised against publishing accusations damaging to someone’s reputation, such as abuse accusations, without legitimate and proportional reasons, especially if the person is deceased and therefore cannot defend his or her good name.

In a recently published letter, the Dicastery for Legislative Texts referenced Canon 220 of the Code of Canon Law, which prohibits slander and defamation, in arguing that “alleged reasons of transparency or reparation” or a “generic ‘right to information’” are not enough to justify the publication of unproven criminal allegations.

The letter to an unidentified monsignor responded to a question about “bona fama defuncti,” Latin for “good reputation of the deceased.” Dated Sept. 5, 2024, it was published on the dicastery’s website in a section with legal clarifications.

While the letter did not mention a specific crime or set of crimes, it did reference a statement of Pope Francis from a February 2019 Vatican meeting on the protection of minors from sexual abuse in the Church, that “it is necessary to prevent the publication of lists of the accused, even by dioceses, before the prior investigation and final conviction.”

It is a common practice of dioceses or independent abuse commissions to publish reports of credible accusations of sexual abuse listing the names of the accused priests and religious, including some who are deceased.

The dicastery disagreed with this approach, stating “the answer can only be negative with respect to the disclosability of hidden news concerning anyone, all the more so when it concerns deceased persons.”

The dicastery’s website said the letter does “not possess the formal value of an authentic interpretation” but answers individual questions about the application of canon law “deemed to be of general interest.”

The letter, signed by the dicastery’s prefect, Archbishop Filippo Iannone, OCarm, and secretary, Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta, said two highly-regarded canonical experts were consulted for the response.

Since Canon 220 of the Code of Canon law says “no one is permitted to harm illegitimately the good reputation which a person possesses,” the letter quoted, it means “in some cases the injury to good name may be legitimate, for example, to avoid any danger or threat to persons or the community.”

“Consequently,” it continued, “it would not be legitimate at all when such a risk is reasonably to be excluded, as in the case of alleged deceased criminals, where there can be neither legitimate nor proportionate reason for the injury to reputation.”

The Dicastery for Legislative Texts cited two principles of law: a person’s presumed innocence until judicially proven otherwise and “retroactivity,” which says someone cannot be convicted or charged for conduct that was not formally a crime at the time it was committed.

In the latter case, the letter said an example would be “so-called omissions of general duties of vigilance.”

The dicastery emphasized that these legal principles cannot be easily overridden to put in the public domain information, however credible, that would be to the “concrete detriment and existential harm of those personally affected, all the more so if it is inaccurate, or even unfounded or false, or completely useless such as that which concerns deceased persons.”

Pope Francis’ medical condition continues to improve, Vatican says

People pray at the statue of John Paul II outside Gemelli Hospital in Rome, where Pope Francis is hospitalized with pneumonia, on Feb. 27, 2025. / Credit: DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images

Vatican City, Feb 27, 2025 / 15:40 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis showed more signs of recovery on Thursday, but more time is needed to determine his medical prognosis. 

“Due to the complexity of the clinical picture, further days of clinical stability are needed to clarify the prognosis,” the Vatican said Thursday.

The Holy See Press Office confirmed the pope’s health is “improving” as he continues to undergo high-flow oxygen therapy, using a mask, as well as respiratory physiotherapy sessions.

The Vatican said the Holy Father dedicated time Thursday afternoon to “prayer in the chapel of his private apartment on the 10th floor [of Gemelli Hospital], where he received the Eucharist. He then engaged in work activities.”

Though the Holy Father’s pneumonia symptoms have not changed since Wednesday, his current medical condition is no longer considered “critical,” according to Vatican sources.  

As Catholics worldwide continue to pray for the pope’s recovery, Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar general for the Diocese of Rome, offered Mass in the Church of San Marcello al Corso on Thursday for the “gift of health” for the Holy Father.

The Church of San Marcello al Corso houses a 15th-century wooden crucifix venerated by Romans as miraculous, which has been used in processions during the Church’s jubilee years in the 17th, 20th, and 21st centuries.

In 2020, Pope Francis brought the San Marcello crucifix to St. Peter’s Square to bless the world and to pray for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pope’s letter to grieving mother revealed as jubilee audience is canceled

Pope Francis attends the general audience at the Vatican on Feb. 12, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

CNA Newsroom, Feb 27, 2025 / 07:30 am (CNA).

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.”

Gaza priest after speaking with Pope Francis: ‘We rejoice to hear his voice’

Father Gabriel Romanelli, pastor of Holy Family Parish in Gaza, leads Eucharistic adoration at the parish in December 2024. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Gabriel Romanelli

Vatican City, Feb 26, 2025 / 15:35 pm (CNA).

Father Gabriel Romanelli, IVE, the pastor of Holy Family Parish, the only Catholic parish in the Gaza Strip, was able to speak with Pope Francis on Tuesday despite the fact that the pontiff remains hospitalized in critical condition with bilateral pneumonia.

After the phone call, the parish priest shared how the entire community rejoiced “to hear his voice.”

“As he did every day from the beginning of this terrible war, Pope Francis has called us once again to show his closeness, to pray for us, and to give us his blessing,” Romanelli said in a video message posted on the website of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

“As the Parish of the Holy Family of Gaza, which belongs to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, we rejoice to hear his voice,” he added. 

At the beginning of the war between Hamas and Israel, the parish complex was converted into an improvised shelter where 500 people now live.

The majority who live there are Christians, Orthodox, Protestant, and Catholic, but they have also taken in more than 50 Muslim children with disabilities along with their families.

For Romanelli, Pope Francis’ daily call, which was only interrupted last Saturday when he suffered a prolonged respiratory crisis that forced him to wear an oxygen mask, “is always comforting.”

Especially “knowing that despite his delicate state of health, he continues to think and pray for everyone, for peace in Gaza,” he said in the video recorded in English. He also thanked the pontiff for his “constant prayers.”

“It gives us great joy even in the midst of so many trials,” Romanelli said, adding that “we follow all the information about the pope’s health, like all of you, from the official channels of the Holy See.”

Finally, he asked for prayers for the end of the war and for “peace for the entire Holy Land and the entire Middle East.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Pope Francis’ early-stage kidney insufficiency ‘subsided’ on Wednesday, Vatican says

People pray at the statue of John Paul II outside the Gemelli Hospital, where Pope Francis is hospitalized with pneumonia, in Rome on Feb. 26, 2025. / Credit: FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images

Vatican City, Feb 26, 2025 / 15:05 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis’ mild early-stage kidney insufficiency “subsided” on Wednesday, according to the Vatican.      

“The Holy Father’s clinical condition over the past 24 hours has shown further slight improvement,” the Holy See Press Office stated. “The mild renal insufficiency noted in recent days has receded.”

Despite the improvement, the latest medical report stated the pope’s “prognosis remains reserved.” 

The 88-year-old pontiff had a chest CT scan Tuesday evening that showed a “normal evolution” of lung inflammation caused by pneumonia.

Blood tests taken Wednesday confirmed the pope, though fragile, is showing signs of recovery. 

“Today’s hematochemical and hemacrocytometric examinations confirmed yesterday’s improvement,” the Vatican’s evening statement said.

The pope did not experience an “asthmatic respiratory crisis” on his 12th day of treatment in Gemelli Hospital but continues to undergo “high-flow oxygen therapy” and respiratory physiotherapy to treat his pneumonia.

“During the morning, the Holy Father received the Eucharist. The afternoon was devoted to work activities,” the Vatican report concluded.

Though the Holy Father met with Vatican officials at Gemelli Hospital earlier this week — including Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, substitute for general affairs of the Secretariat of State — the pontiff has not received any visitors today, the Vatican said.

In Rome, parishes and religious communities continue to offer Masses and prayers for Pope Francis, his health, and the leadership of the Church while the pontiff remains in the hospital for ongoing medical treatment. 

Since Monday, the Diocese of Rome and the Roman Curia have collaborated to organize nightly prayer events open to the public in St. Peter’s Square to pray for the pope’s recovery.  

Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, will lead Wednesday evening’s rosary.

Pope Francis shines light on Bible’s elderly ‘pilgrims of hope’ in Wednesday catechesis

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Vatican City, Feb 26, 2025 / 13:05 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis on Wednesday asked Catholics to have the wisdom to look for the presence of God in our midst like the elderly Simeon and Anna in the New Testament.

In his second catechesis since being admitted into Rome’s Gemelli Hospital nearly two weeks ago, the Holy Father reflected on the presentation of Jesus in the Temple and the Lord’s encounter with two elderly “pilgrims of hope.”

“The song of redemption of two elders thus emits the proclamation of the jubilee for all the people and for the world,” the pope shared in his written commentary on St. Luke’s Gospel. 

“Hope is rekindled in hearts in the Temple of Jerusalem because Christ our hope has entered it,” he continued.

The 88-year-old pontiff emphasized that both Simeon and Anna were people of prayer and worship, with “clear eyes” capable of recognizing God in the child Jesus and welcoming him into their lives. 

“Simeon embraces that child who, small and helpless, rests in his arms; but it is he, in fact, who finds consolation and the fullness of his existence by holding him to himself,” the pope said. 

“Filled with this spiritual consolation, the elderly Simeon sees death not as the end but as fulfillment, fullness; he awaits it like a ‘sister’ that does not annihilate but introduces to the true life that he has already foretasted and in which he believes,” he added.

Anna, a widow of more than 80 years of age who was devoted to prayer and service, could not contain her joy when Joseph and Mary presented Jesus at the Temple.

“Anna celebrates the God of Israel, who has redeemed his people in that very child and tells others about him, generously spreading the prophetic word,” the Holy Father said.

Besides helping Jesus make his “first act of worship” in the Temple, the pope noted how Jesus’ parents, Mary and Joseph, express the tenderness of a family and “do not simply embed Jesus in a history of the family, the people, of the covenant with the Lord God.”

“They take care of his growth, and introduce him into the atmosphere of faith and worship. And they too gradually grow in their comprehension of a vocation that far surpasses them,” he said.

Pope Francis creates fundraising commission to solicit Vatican donations

A view of St. Peter's Basilica during the Mass for the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, with Bernini's baldachin and the papal altar decorated with white flowers, Dec. 8, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Vatican City, Feb 26, 2025 / 12:35 pm (CNA).

The Vatican on Wednesday announced that Pope Francis has created a fundraising commission to solicit donations from Catholics and bishops’ conferences as the Vatican City State and the Roman Curia continue to face budgetary and funding challenges.

The “Commissio de Donationibus pro Sancta Sede,” Latin for “Commission on Donations for the Holy See,” has six members, “whose specific task will be to encourage donations” and find benefactors for special projects within the Vatican, according to a papal decree signed Feb. 11.

Pope Francis has been making cost-cutting decisions at the Vatican in recent years as he continues attempts to reverse the institution’s struggling financial situation, including a pension fund facing a “serious prospective imbalance.”

The donation commission’s statutes, signed by Pope Francis, say the team will report directly to the pope with twice-yearly updates on their work, to be carried out with the help of an initial endowment of 300,000 euros (about $315,000).

In its fundraising campaigns, the commission should, according to the norms, emphasize the importance of donations for “the Holy Father’s mission and charitable works” and ensure the will of the donor is respected when it comes to the destination of money for specific projects.

The first president of the commission is Father Roberto Campisi, assessor in the general affairs section of the Secretariat of State.

Members include Archbishop Flavio Pace, secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity; Sister Alessandra Smerilli, secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; and Sister Silvana Piro, FMGB, undersecretary of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), which oversees the Vatican’s real estate holdings and other sovereign assets.

The last appointee is Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi, an Italian lawyer who on Tuesday was promoted from vice secretary to secretary of the Vatican City State Governorate.

The president and members of the commission are appointed for five-year terms.

CNA explains: Who’s in charge of the Vatican while Pope Francis is hospitalized?

Pilgrims gather in St. Peter's Square for a Mass and canonization of 14 new saints on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Staff, Feb 26, 2025 / 11:10 am (CNA).

Pope Francis entered the hospital for treatment of bronchitis on Feb. 14. Almost two weeks later, doctors say the pope — who contracted a case of double pneumonia while at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital and experienced a “respiratory crisis” on Saturday — will remain in the facility while recovering due to his “complex” medical situation.

An extended hospital stay for one of the most important international figures in the world may raise the question: Who exactly runs the Vatican when a pope is hospitalized or unable to perform his normal duties?

Matthew Bunson, vice president and editorial director of EWTN News and the author of numerous books on Catholicism including “Encyclopedia of Catholic History,” told CNA that although Pope Francis has been in the hospital for almost two weeks, he has continued at least some oversight of Vatican affairs. 

Bunson pointed to coverage by ACI Stampa, CNA’s Italian-language news partner, which reported that the pope earlier this week met with his secretaries at Gemelli while recovering from his illness.

“So he’s clearly still in touch with the Vatican and is still making decisions,” Bunson said. 

In such cases, he said, “the machinery of state tends to keep functioning until such time as we enter into an interregnum” — the period in between popes. 

Andreas Widmer, an associate professor of practice in entrepreneurship at The Catholic University of America’s Busch School of Business and former Swiss Guard at the Vatican, likewise said much of the Vatican’s administration continues even when the pope is sick. 

“Things keep going. He is kept apprised by [Vatican officials],” said Widmer, who served as a Swiss Guard under Pope John Paul II in the 1980s and who regularly returns to the Vatican to work with the guard.

“From what I understand, the pope is still lucid and working,” Widmer said of Francis’ current hospitalization. “Maybe he doesn’t put in his 12-hour days, but he’s putting in work and meeting with people.”

In some cases, popes have addressed the possible need for resignations ahead of time. Pope Paul VI in 1965 wrote a letter to the dean of the College of Cardinals stating that, in the event of his incapacitation while in office, he should be considered resigned. (Pope Paul ultimately lived another 13 years and died while in office.)

In 2022, Pope Francis revealed that in the first year of his pontificate he signed his resignation and gave it to then-Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone to be invoked if he was medically incapacitated and unable to carry out his duties. (“I don’t know who Cardinal Bertone gave it to, but I gave it to him when he was secretary of state,” the pope joked at the time.)

However, in his biography last year, the pope said he considers the Petrine ministry to be “for life” and saw no conditions for resignation, barring serious physical impairment.

Widmer argued that popes are not given to leaving such matters unresolved one way or the other. “A pope is not going to leave this to chance. They take their responsibility very seriously,” he said. 

Bunson noted the recent similar scenario in which St. John Paul II declined in health toward the end of his pontificate; during that period, he said, it was clear that preparations were being made for a possible interregnum.

“Clearly we’re not in that position yet, so the Roman Curia continues to function” as normal, he said. 

In the event of a pope’s death, Bunson said, much of the immediate administration of the Vatican falls to the camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church — one of the few officials of the Vatican who does not immediately lose his job upon a pope’s death. His roles include certifying the pope’s death and overseeing the functions of the interregnum.

“It’s his job to certify the death of the reigning pope and to make sure the wishes of the pope are respected,” Bunson explained. “Then the cardinals are summoned to Rome,” after which a new pope is eventually elected. 

Also retaining his title in the event of a pope’s death is the head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, the dicastery for which the chief role is the forgiveness of sins.

That official “always keeps his job,” Bunson said, “because there must always be the opportunity for God’s loving mercy.”

A second key official is the almoner of his holiness, the cardinal in charge of papal charity and care for the poor. It was Pope Francis who decreed that the almoner should keep his post, a reflection of the Holy Father’s concern for the forgotten and most vulnerable. 

Though Catholics may be curious as to how the Vatican is run during a pope’s hospitalization, Widmer signalled out one rumor that he said was “complete nonsense”: The claim that the Swiss Guards are “rehearsing” for the Holy Father’s funeral.

Reports of such rehearsals have circulated in international media in recent days, with the Swiss Guard itself denying the claims.

It’s “complete garbage,” Widmer said of the rumors, arguing that the Swiss Guard is already prepared for such occurrences as a normal part of their employment.

“Nobody has to practice anything. It’s what they do for a living,” he said.

Daily Holy Hour held in hospital where Pope Francis is being treated

Faithful gather to pray during a Holy Hour at St. John Paul II Chapel at Gemelli Hospital in Rome, where Pope Francis is being treated for several medical conditions. / Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA

Vatican City, Feb 25, 2025 / 16:20 pm (CNA).

In a quiet chapel within Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, a doctor kneels before the Blessed Sacrament in his white coat. A patient in a wheelchair bows his head in silent prayer. Nearby, a group of religious sisters hold their rosary beads as they gaze up at the altar.

This is the scene in the John Paul II hospital chapel, where a daily Holy Hour of Eucharistic adoration is being held just floors below where Pope Francis, 88, is receiving treatment for pneumonia and early-stage kidney failure — marking the most extended hospitalization of his pontificate.

A doctor kneels and makes the sign of the cross before the Blessed Sacrament on Feb. 25, 2025, in the John Paul II Chapel at Gemelli Hospital in Rome, where Pope Francis is being treated for several health conditions. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA
A doctor kneels and makes the sign of the cross before the Blessed Sacrament on Feb. 25, 2025, in the John Paul II Chapel at Gemelli Hospital in Rome, where Pope Francis is being treated for several health conditions. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA

The hospital Holy Hour is one of many prayer initiatives that have sprung up in the Eternal City as the pope remains in critical condition and the global Catholic community continues to offer fervent prayers for him.

Each evening at 9 p.m., undeterred by a week of rainy weather, hundreds of Catholics convene in St. Peter’s Square to recite the rosary for the pope. 

The rosary vigils are led by prominent cardinals, including Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle. Notably, more than two dozen Rome-based cardinals, among them Cardinal Raymond Burke and Cardinal Gerhard Müller, occupy the front rows, heads bowed in unified prayer.

Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for the Clergy, spoke to CNA after the first vigil in St. Peter’s Square.

“I hope the pope will heal,” he said, emphasizing the importance of following Pope Francis’ example during this time by living the Word joyfully, loving others, and opening our hearts to the marginalized and the poor.

The South Korean cardinal gave a passionate response when asked what was his message for the pope during this time: “Once I said to the Holy Father, ‘I am ready to give my life for you, for the Church.’ This I repeat.”

Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for the Clergy, speaks to CNA after the first prayer vigil for Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square on Feb. 24, 2025. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA
Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for the Clergy, speaks to CNA after the first prayer vigil for Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square on Feb. 24, 2025. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA

At the Basilica of St. Mary Major — the basilica where Pope Francis has said he hopes to be buried — every Mass is being offered for the pope, the basilica’s communications director told CNA, including Masses celebrated in the chapel of the ancient Salus Populi Romani image of Mary, a favorite of Francis, who prays in the chapel before and after every international trip.

Gemelli Hospital, a bustling hub as Rome’s premier teaching hospital and Italy’s second-largest medical facility, has long had a connection to the papacy. The 10th floor, where Francis is under medical care, has been a designated suite for papal medical emergencies for decades.

The hospital’s chapel bears the name and contains a relic of another pope who knew these corridors well: St. John Paul II. The Polish pontiff was hospitalized here multiple times, including after an assassination attempt in 1981.

The chapel at Gemelli Hospital in Rome bears the name and contains a relic of another pope who knew these corridors well: St. John Paul II. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA
The chapel at Gemelli Hospital in Rome bears the name and contains a relic of another pope who knew these corridors well: St. John Paul II. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA

The hospital is a place where life moves at a relentless pace — surgeries being performed, babies crying in maternity wards, ambulances arriving with patients for the emergency room. Yet amid all that is happening, within the walls of the John Paul II hospital chapel there is peaceful silence as people are united in communal prayer and words of hope in front of the real presence of Jesus.

Father Nunzio Corrao, the chaplain of Gemelli Hospital, opened the midday hour of adoration on Tuesday with a prayer.

“We want to continue to pray for Pope Francis that the therapeutic course he is taking is effective,” the chaplain said.

“We ask for grace as well that following the example of Pope Francis, we can also be ready to respond to the Lord’s call to be credible witnesses of the Gospel,” he added.

Faithful gather for a Holy Hour on Feb. 25, 2025, in the John Paul II Chapel at Gemelli Hospital in Rome, where Pope Francis is being treated for several medicatl conditions. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA
Faithful gather for a Holy Hour on Feb. 25, 2025, in the John Paul II Chapel at Gemelli Hospital in Rome, where Pope Francis is being treated for several medicatl conditions. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA

A pharmacologist who has worked at Gemelli Hospital for 37 years was among those who attended the Holy Hour in his white laboratory coat. He said that it is an honor and a privilege to serve God and God’s people in the same hospital that treated John Paul II and Pope Francis. 

Outside the hospital, beneath a towering statue of John Paul II holding the cross — now covered with candles, flowers, and handwritten notes wishing Francis a swift recovery — Catholics have been frequently gathering to recite the rosary. 

Candles, flowers, and handwritten notes wishing Pope Francis a swift recovery stand underneath a towering statue of St. John Paul II on Feb. 25, 2025, outside Gemelli Hospital in Rome. . Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA
Candles, flowers, and handwritten notes wishing Pope Francis a swift recovery stand underneath a towering statue of St. John Paul II on Feb. 25, 2025, outside Gemelli Hospital in Rome. . Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA

Friar Massimo Fusarelli, the minister general of the Order of Friars Minor, offered Mass in the hospital chapel after the Holy Hour on Feb. 25.

“May we be at peace and pray for our dear Pope Francis that he may soon return to his mission, invigorated in spirit and body according to God’s will,” Fusarelli said in his homily.

The Franciscan superior, himself a patient at Gemelli after undergoing surgery, reflected on suffering and illness from a Christian perspective. Inspired by the readings of the day, he compared the trials of life to the fire that purifies gold and silver, removing impurities.

“Trials, sufferings, and illnesses reveal who we really are,” he said. “Here in this hospital, many of you, including doctors and medical staff, live this truth every day.”

“We ask the Lord to continue to listen to our prayer, so that the voice of Pope Francis does not fade away but is strong and loud; we especially need him as a compass in a dark time like the one we are living in,” the Franciscan said.